Forgive me if this has already been diaried, but since the Mayor's name is, of all things, Rasmussen, it was very hard to search the tags for this story.
Form the AP:
SILVERTON, Ore. (AP) — Plenty of politicians reinvent themselves, but few do it quite like Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen.
Rasmussen has been a fixture in Silverton politics for more than 20 years, and had twice before been mayor of the small city 45 miles south of Portland. Those terms, however, were before his breast implants and before the once-discreet crossdresser started wearing dresses and 3-inch heels in public.
link
Now, you must forgive me again if I messed up the terminology. I have used the Transgender to describe Rassmussen, but I do not know if this is 100% correct. Rassmussen describes himself as "a heterosexual male who appears to be a female." Yet he has had breast implant surgery, and I know that there is a lot of resistance to labeling when it comes to alternative gender expressions.
That said, Rasumussen made no attempt to hide this fact, and was still elected, and in town of a population of only 7414 by a vote count of 1,988 votes to 1,512.
How is that for some Small Town Values? I guess the conventional wisdom that gender non conformity is not tolerated outside of certain neighborhoods in big cities can be added to list of now debunked Conventional Wisdom.
I am so excited about the death of Conventional Wisdom in 2008, I hope that it continues and that America proves over and over again that it is not any of the stereotypes of intolerance and stupidity that we try to force on it.
I grew up in New England and I used to be afraid of going to the South. Now I see a different America taking shape and it is a very exciting time to be a citizen of this country.
UPDATE: I'm linking to Stu's website if you would like to know more information or send congratulatory emails. It is .sturasmussen.com and the email is stu@97381.com
UPDATE 2: Stu's own words regarding his gender identity:
I just happen to be transgendered - something I didn't even know the word for until I discovered it on the Internet. I've been a crossdresser or transvestite my whole life, only 'coming out' recently and thereby discovering that life goes on very nicely.
sturasmussen.com