Newly confirmed Zoning Committee Chair Walter Burnett (27th) said Thursday he wants to keep ShotSpotter, but will not cast the 34th vote needed to clinch an override of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s threatened veto.Portraying himself as a “peacemaker” between an embattled mayor and an emboldened City Council, Burnett said nothing will be gained by further “antagonizing and fighting” Johnson. Not after “every vote has been tight” during Johnson’s first 17 months in office.Instead, Burnett said he is heartened by the fact that, even before the 33-14 vote to empower Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling to sign a new contract with ShotSpotter, Johnson had come to believe some form of gunshot detection technology is needed. The most urgent need is in South Side and West Side neighborhoods where violent crime is highest and residents are most reluctant to summon police by calling 911, Burnett said.“I’m glad that he went from everyone [assuming] that he didn’t want anything to him wanting something better,” Burnett said Thursday.“I was relieved because I’m like, 'We need something in our community to not only keep our people safe, but also to help folks when they get shot. … Somebody can be beating you to death on the street and nobody will say anything.” Related EDITORIAL: The case for keeping ShotSpotter The first time the Council tried to tie Johnson’s hands on ShotSpotter, Burnett joined the chorus that bucked the mayor. The second time, he was in Germany and did not vote at all.A dozen African American alderpersons — including five members of the mayor’s Council leadership team — were among the 33 voting to save ShotSpotter. Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th), recovering from a mild heart attack, did not attend the meeting. Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) walked off the Council floor and did not vote. CPD Supt. Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) at a news conference outside Stroger Hospital on June 18 after the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Jai’mani Amir Rivera.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Johnson promptly branded the ordinance an “illegal” intrusion on contracting authority that rests solely with the executive branch. He vowed to veto the ordinance, but has until the next regularly scheduled Council meeting, on Oct. 9, to do so.If the mayor follows through on that threat, Burnett would be under pressure to cast the deciding 34th vote, which would give the opponents the two-thirds majority required to override a mayoral veto.On Thursday, Burnett, the Council's dean, ended the suspense.“I’m not going to vote to override. … He’s willing to give us something. … We should try to work on that. … To just work for one company, I don’t think that’s ethically right. … We need to look at what all the other options are. Hopefully, we can get something on the table fast,” Burnett said.“I don’t think antagonizing and fighting him is going to help us get something in place. … Some folks think more about fighting than about getting things done. I think about getting things done,” he said. Ald. Walter Burnett at a ceremony last month marking the start of demolition of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center printing plant, 777 W. Chicago Ave., where a new Bally’s casino will be built. The location is in Burnett’s 27th Ward.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Burnett plowed the same middle ground in Johnson’s unprecedented attempt to dump Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez in the middle of negotiations on a new teachers contract and just months before a partially elected school board is sworn in.He said he loves Martinez and wants him to stay. But Burnett said he believes even more strongly that the final decision rests with the mayor and his handpicked Chicago Board of Education in an increasingly messy standoff between a Chicago Teachers Union that put Johnson in office and “corporate America and philanthropists” supporting charter schools. Related EDITORIAL: Why CPS needs CEO Pedro Martinez “The mayor comes from the teachers union. … Of course, he’s going to advocate where he came from. … Everybody knew that coming in the door. Everybody knew it was going to be like this when he got elected. … A lot of us didn’t support him,” said Burnett, who backed Lori Lightfoot in the first round of the mayoral sweepstakes, pivoting to Paul Vallas in the runoff.“Everybody knew if he got in, this is how it’s going to be. So here we are,” said Burnett.Burnett’s political pragmatism has helped him to survive and thrive for nearly 30 years under four mayors. Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks with Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) during a City Council meeting in May.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times He acknowledged Johnson has been in almost constant political turmoil, much of it of his own making, and has the low approval ratings to show for it, as multiple polls by political and business groups put that figure in the 20 percentage point range. He’s now in danger of losing a Council that bucked his first choice for Zoning Committee chair, progressive firebrand Byron Sigcho-Lopez.“Every vote has been tight for this administration. … The mayor has put some stuff in place to try to help every ward. … But folks won’t give him a chance. … It’s like we have a war going on in the city’s that’s unnecessary,” Burnett said.With more than two years remaining in Johnson’s four-year term, “I want to be the peacemaker or try to be the peacemaker because I’m used to things happening in my ward," Burnett said. "And all of this chaos is slowing things down for me — for everyone in the city of Chicago. … We need to help this mayor. We need to give him a chance to get things right.” Related LISTEN: Fran Spielman interviews Chicago’s top newsmakers