Shady Stephen Thompson is at it again, trying to rewrite history and deceive Cottleville residents. He claims he fought against the contentious Harmony Pointe apartment development near Frankie Martin’s Garden, portraying himself as an opponent of the project. But the truth is the complete opposite: Thompson repeatedly voted YES to push this development forward at every critical stage. Now he’s scrambling to cover his tracks, lying about his record and shifting blame to others ,even the mayor , to hide his original support. Cottleville deserves better leadership than these shameless distortions of the truth. 

Thompson’s and two other YES Votes Gave Harmony Pointe the Green Light. John Stiles was the only NO vote. The mayor did not vote. 

From the very beginning, Stephen Thompson voted in favor of the Harmony Pointe apartments. The first and most important approval came on August 18, 2021, when the Board of Aldermen voted on the area plan and rezoning needed for the project. Thompson voted YES to approve that plan and rezoning – a crucial vote that officially allowed the apartment project to move forward . This rezoning was the true point of no return: once the land was rezoned and the area plan OK’d, the developer had the legal right to build the apartments. 

Thompson didn’t stop there. He also voted YES along with two other alderman on two conditional use permits related to the Harmony Pointe development . These permits – one of them also approved in 2021 – further locked in the project’s legal foundation, granting the developer permission for multi-family dwellings and other uses on the site. In other words, Thompson personally handed the developer every approval they needed to proceed with the apartments. By the time these votes were done, Harmony Pointe had a green light from the city. Any later objections were effectively meaningless because legally the project was entitled to be built. 

Let’s be very clear: those first votes carried the most legal and procedural weight. Thompson’s affirmative votes on the area plan, rezoning, and conditional use permits gave the project its footing. They put Cottleville on the hook – had the city tried to backtrack afterwards, it would face serious legal consequences for denying a developer rights that were already granted. Thompson’s actions exposed the city to major legal risk if the project were stopped after he helped approve it . 

A Last-Minute “No” Vote, When It Was Too Late 

Only after Stephen Thompson had cast all these yes votes to approve Harmony Pointe did he decide to perform a phony about-face. Much later in the process, when the project’s details (like building elevations and design) came up for final adjustment, Thompson suddenly voted “no.” He now touts this lone NO vote as proof he opposed the apartments – but that is pure political theater and flat-out dishonest. By the time of this vote, it was already too late to stop the project . Thompson’s “no” was nothing more than a symbolic stunt – a cynical attempt to rebuild his reputation with residents after he had already ensured the development’s approval. 

What Thompson won’t tell you is that this final vote he highlights was only about the site’s elevation plans and grading – essentially cosmetic details, not whether the apartments could be built at all. The core question of “Can this project happen?” had been answered yes by Thompson himself long before. His belated opposition was for show, hoping you wouldn’t notice his earlier votes. It’s the equivalent of opening the barn door and then pretending to be upset that the horse ran out – utterly disingenuous. 

Twisting the Truth and Blaming Others (Including the Mayor) 

Perhaps the most outrageous part of Thompson’s revisionist tale is how he tries to shift blame to everyone but himself. He even claims that the mayor “approved” the project by casting a tie-breaking vote. This is false. The mayor’s involvement came only because Thompson’s flip-flop “no” vote created a procedural tie on a minor detail. In May 2022, with the project’s elevation plan on the line, Thompson’s sudden opposition helped deadlock the board – forcing the mayor to step in solely to break the tie and prevent a legal disaster . The mayor’s vote had no bearing on whether the apartments could be built; that had been decided by the earlier approvals which Thompson supported. The only reason a tie-break was needed was to ensure the city honored the commitments Thompson had already voted for, and to avoid a costly lawsuit that would have hit Cottleville taxpayers . 

In short, Thompson is trying to pin the Harmony Pointe fiasco on others – when in reality he was the driving force who enabled it. He omits the entire sequence of events that led to the mayor’s tie-break. He doesn’t mention that he voted in favor of the project at every key step, then tried to reverse course at the end. By leaving out these inconvenient facts, Thompson is deliberately deceiving the public about his record . It’s an act of cowardice and calculation: he’s hoping voters will believe his myth that he “tried to stop” the apartments, when he did the exact opposite. 

No Integrity, No Credibility – Cottleville Deserves Better 

This pattern of lies and opportunism shows that Stephen Thompson lacks the integrity and leadership Cottleville needs. Rather than own up to his pro-development votes, he concocts a false narrative where he’s the hero and everyone else is to blame. It’s dishonest and pathetic. A leader with credibility would tell the truth and accept responsibility. Shady Stephen instead chooses to mislead his neighbors, betting on ignorance and confusion to save his political skin. 

Cottleville residents aren’t fooled. We remember who opened the door for Harmony Pointe. We see who’s lying about it now. Thompson’s record is etched in the official votes – no matter how he spins it, the fact is he helped make Harmony Pointe a reality . His last-minute protest and finger-pointing at the mayor are nothing but tricks from a desperate politician. 

Cottleville deserves better. We deserve honest leadership that stands by its decisions and puts the community first – not a shameless flip-flopper who says one thing and does another. Stephen Manoj Thompson’s deceit over the Harmony Pointe development is a glaring reminder that he is not the trustworthy leader he pretends to be. Enough is enough – it’s time to hold “Shady Stephen” accountable and reject his politics of deception.