Hard to imagine

The Three Stooges of Payson

Imagine three grown men, dressed as public servants, walking into a town hall meeting as if they were starring in a low-budget remake of The Three Stooges. Now imagine them beginning that meeting with a solemn prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance—heads bowed, hands over hearts, every gesture dripping with performative patriotism.

In Payson, Arizona, this is our reality.

These three men—Mayor Steve Otto, Jim Ferris, and Charlie Bell—give hypocrisy their most earnest effort. They pray as if they follow the teachings of Christ. They recite the pledge as if they understand the meaning of “liberty and justice for all.” And then, moments later, they proceed to violate every principle embedded in the words they just spoke.

Jim Ferris kicks things off by claiming—without evidence—that the public library is promoting pornography. It’s a smear straight from the national extremist playbook: attack institutions of learning, stir fear, and hope no one asks for proof.

Steve Otto, meanwhile, sees no issue with attending Tea Party meetings that exclude the public he claims to represent. Transparency? Accountability? Those words disappear the moment he steps into the Tea Party clubhouse.

And then there’s Charlie Bell—poor Charlie—who simply salutes whatever the Tea Party demands. No independent thought, no evaluation, no courage. Just obedience.

Because pandering to the Tea Party is the entire operating system for this trio.

The Tea Party in Payson functions like a Boy Scouts troop for Trumpism: badges in outrage, merit awards for misinformation, and a handbook written in conspiracy theories. Reality doesn’t faze them. Facts are optional. The truth is like putty—molded, twisted, and reshaped to suit whatever narrative keeps the base riled and the power structure intact.

This is what passes for leadership in Payson. A ritualized performance of prayer, patriotism, and public service—followed by a meeting where those very principles are cheerfully discarded.

And the citizens of Payson deserve better than a government run by stooges.