Over the last 24-hours, a number of folks have reached out asking why Lowell Mayor Danny Rourke was not in attendance last night for a meeting featuring a pair of potentially contentious issues, along with many other agenda items.

As discussion on the council floor unfolded and a moment of parliamentary confusion ensued over whether a roll call vote could supersede councilor comments on the item at hand, the number of questions increased.

Yours truly was among those wondering, so I reached out to Mayor Rourke during the proceedings to ask where he was.

“In Toronto for Frontrunner City meetings,” came the reply. Actually had a good day. Back at it tomorrow (Wednesday).”

During a follow up discussion today, the Mayor elaborated on the purpose of the latest Toronto trip, which ironically enough given the somewhat contentious council debate last night about the Markley Group and data centers, involved discussions focusing on Artificial Intelligence and energy.

With energy on the docket, the two-day Frontrunner City meeting in Toronto also included the city’s Sustainability Director, Katherine Moses, which explains her absence from the Markley discussion at City Hall as well.

Moses’ trip was the subject of a funding request on last night’s agenda, though the Mayor’s name was missing from that request. “I paid my own way. That’s why I wasn’t on the vote,” Rourke explained.

As for what came from the latest trip the Great White North, Mayor Rourke indicated Tuesday’s discussions established Lowell’s long-term vision under the Frontrunner City framework, while today’s talks secured global partnerships, institution structures and financing commitments.

When pressed for specific details, Rourke said those “may be announced publicly as early as the next Urban Economy Forum (UEF7).”

That gathering takes place October 14-17, once again in Toronto. You’ll recall UEF6 last September was where the Mayor first made the connections that eventually spawned the Mill City’s designation as the first Frontrunner City in the United States.

Needless to say, political eyes will now focus on the middle of October and what those potential revelations entail, even if it means Vice Mayor Paul Ratha Yem will once again have to chair that week’s council meeting.

This time, however, we won’t be asking where the Mayor is.