At this point, the pattern is familiar. Shady Mayor Stephen’s leadership leans heavily on performance, photos, appearances, and lofty language, while tangible results remain hard to point to. Visibility comes easily. Follow-through, less so.

That’s why his appearance this month that he posted at an international entrepreneurship conference in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India doesn’t feel surprising. It feels consistent.

What makes the optics worse is the perception that city funds may ultimately cover the cost of the trip. To many people in Cottleville , it looks like public money being used to pad a résumé rather than produce clear benefits at home. Economic development should show up in Cottleville , not just in travel photos taken halfway around the world.

The nature of the conference raises additional concerns. It was Tamil-focused, and Mayor Stephen Manoj Thompson is from Tamil India. Cultural connection on its own isn’t the issue. But when most of his visible external business engagement appears concentrated within one cultural network and that engagement happens abroad, it prompts a fair question: how does this serve the broader Cottleville community he is suppose to represent? Or does he .

That question is amplified by a growing perception that he isn’t even trying to fully assimilate into the American community he claims to lead. Many residents expect a U.S. mayor and especially a U.S. citizen holding public office to visibly champion American companies, local workers, and domestic economic interests. When those priorities are absent or unclear, skepticism grows.

In fact, there is now a growing chorus of Cottleville residents openly questioning where his loyalties and focus lie, fueled by the disconnect between his stated identity as an American civic leader and the outward facing nature of his actions. Whether fair or not, those questions are a direct result of the optics he creates.

Locally, the pattern reinforces itself. Take Marcy’s Project. The mayor appeared prominently for photos, but there is no public record of sustained involvement, no volunteering, no donations, no continued advocacy. The formula repeats: show up, be seen, move on.

Taken together, these actions don’t read as inclusive leadership or strategic economic development. They read as branding.