ROTHENBURGER – ‘Ajax continues to be a frequent topic of the site….’

QUESTIONS remain.

How many women will come forward to accuse Donald Trump of inappropriate behavior? Can the Blue Jays come back in Game Two against Cleveland? Will KGHM ante up for another $200,000 to save taxpayers the cost of finishing the independent review of the Ajax application?

There hasn’t been any word from the mining company on whether it will add to the $300,000 it has already paid toward the study by SLR Consulting.

Yves Lacasse is out of the country at the moment, but he did send out a head’s up Wednesday to Ajax supporters about an upcoming “Family Pancake Breakfast” complete with music. Formal invitation to follow.

The second half of the email was a welcome boost for ArmchairMayor.ca. “You have probably seen that the Armchair Mayor site has started again, and Ajax continues to be a frequent topic of the site’s editorials and articles,” it says, noting our poll on the issue of the $200,000.

At the time, just over 50 per cent of those responding voted for KGHM paying, the rest for telling the City to pound sand.

The email asked Ajax supporters to cast a vote in the poll. That’s all well and good, but I don’t really understand the next line: “The results of the poll will continue to illustrate that the majority of Kamloops supports the project.”

Which results? Does it mean supporters think KGHM should pay the $200,000 in order to make sure the project has been fully examined as KGHM has stated it wants? Or that those who favour the mine don’t want KGHM to support completing this important study for local government?

Not sure, doesn’t say. It’s left up to individual respondents to decide how to vote. Communications strategist Robert Koopmans hadn’t seen the email, and I was unable to make contact with Lacasse — understandable, since he’s travelling — to talk either about the email or about thoughts on the $200,000.

As for the poll, there was a bump in the “pound sand” numbers shortly after the email but the yes-no ratio soon returned to a saw-off. In fact, as I’m looking at it right now, it’s a dead heat. Whether the temporary shift had anything to do with Ajax supporters joining in is impossible to know, and there’s certainly no sense speculating.

(By the way, the poll has been moved off the home page because I change them weekly, but you can still find it under the Polls tab.)

It’s a harmless enough gesture, that email, and flattering that a poll by this humble website should be considered worthy of attention from one of the largest copper producers in the world, but we carry a disclaimer that our polls should not be considered scientific and are for entertainment purposes only.

In the grand scheme of things, it seems unlikely the poll is going to have any effect on whether KGHM decides to write a cheque for the additional contribution. As I said in an earlier editorial, PR is likely to be the crucial factor.

Anyway, the shout-out from KGHM Ajax is appreciated. I have pretty defined views on Ajax, but my views aren’t the only ones around, and all are welcome on this site. Airing differences of opinion is the best way of getting to decisions.

As for the other two questions, the answers are: probably lots, and yes.

armchairmayor@gmail.com.