A White Rock city councillor is apologizing for disparaging comments about pregnant women that drew criticism from the city’s mayor – and citizens.

Speaking on the podcast Talk Digital Network earlier this month, rookie councillor David Chesney described pregnant women’s clothing as resembling “sausage casing.”

“Their belly button is actually pushing through the material and I kind of look at that and I go ‘I get it, you’re pregnant’,” he said on the Goddard Report. “Now, why such a desire to push that out in front of everyone?”

On the show, he admitted people might not agree with his views.

“You get one year maternity leave, so women want to come to work till that water breaks and they get one year from the time the baby is born,” he added.

Chesney couldn’t be reached for comment by CTV News Thursday but fellow politicians are already speaking out.

“I’m not sure what he was thinking when he did it,” said White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin. “It’s an unfortunate thing and it’s something he’s going to have to live with and deal with himself.”

Baldwin says council has officially censured Chesney before, relating to content he published on his online newspaper.

White Rock’s mayor was quick to emphasize that Chesney’s views were his own and did not reflect the opinion of council as a whole.

On Friday, Chesney offered an apology in the online newspaper White Rock Sun that he edits and publishes.

"I apologize to any women that may have been offended by comments that were taken out of context," he wrote, after noting he's baffled that the interview is making headlines almost a month after it appeared online.

Chesney seemed astonished that his comments received so much attention, and the fact his "city-supplied bat phone began to ring off the hook" with people wanting to talk about it.

"I naturally assumed they were calling regarding what as going on down at White Rock city hall. Imagine my surprise when the first call I returned, the reporter informed me she wanted to talk to me about my comments on pregnant women?" he wrote.