Florida city official seeking sex change fired

[Draka]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/24/sexchange.firing.ap/index.html

LARGO, Florida (AP) -- City commissioners early Saturday made final the firing of a city manager who is seeking a sex-change operation, despite pleas from dozens of impassioned supporters to save his job.

After a six-hour hearing, the commissioners decided to fire 48-year-old Steve Stanton after his announcement that he planned a new life as a woman. The move came after the commission voted 5-2 last month to suspend him with pay.

Commissioners contended Stanton was being fired because they lost confidence in him, not because he wants to be a woman.

"I think we're pretty well convinced," Commissioner Gay Gentry said. "You have to believe us, you have to trust us, it is not about transgenderism." (Watch passionate public hearing as Steve says becoming Susan will not affect his job)

Stanton, 48, triggered the debate in the city of 76,000 west of Tampa last month when he announced his plans at a news conference. Commissioners said Stanton's announcement caused turmoil and work disruption in the city. His contract says he can be fired without cause at any time.

Stanton has not decided if he will sue over the firing.
"I was optimistic, but I knew it would be very difficult to slow down the train," he said following the hearing.

Stanton had asked commissioners to give city employees and the community "an opportunity to show they can embrace a transgender city manager because that person is competent based on their skills, knowledge and education."

Most of more than 70 other speakers -- including gay and lesbian activists and transgender people -- spoke passionately in favor of Stanton.

"I don't want the city of Largo to be the poster child for bigotry and discrimination," resident Mary Jensen told commissioners.

But others said Stanton bullied city employees, and the publicity generated by his announcement has cast the city in a negative light.

"This little thing has made Largo the laughingstock of the whole country," resident Jimmy Dean told commissioners. "It's a disgrace."

The city commission had given Stanton generally good reviews and a hefty raise last year for his management of the city's $130 million budget and roughly 1,200 employees. But since commissioners put Stanton on leave, some have criticized him for hard-nosed treatment of employees.

Stanton planned to change his name legally in August and begin living as a woman before having gender reassignment surgery in summer 2008.

He drafted an eight-page transition plan to prepare his employees and pursue the sex-change operation. He planned to announce the change this summer. But a St. Petersburg Times reporter learned his secret and he was forced to come out at a City Hall press conference on February 21.

I really don't see the City Manager's wish for a sex change to be causing people to look upon Largo as a "laughing stock", but firing him for it shows a tad bit of bigotry in my opinion.

 

[Jaymes]

I don't think I'm going to get over people continuously using male pronouns for her.

 

[Draka]

I don't think I'm going to get over people continuously using male pronouns for her.

Well, I never quite know how to address someone depending on the progress of the transistion. If they have already begun transistion with counseling and hormones and living as the opposite gender then I definitely refer to them as the opposite gender, but when I don't know...I don't know. It depends how how they want to be addressed and if that isn't made known then I don't know what to do. It's just strange. I don't want to step on feelings, but...well, it's a confusing subject.

 

[Mathematician]

"This little thing has made Largo the laughingstock of the whole country," resident Jimmy Dean told commissioners. "It's a disgrace."

Not really making it better.

 

[Djamila]

I hope whatever tourism industry exists in this city completely collapses.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I hope whatever tourism industry exists in this city completely collapses.

I doubt it will, since it is close to Tampa, which is a busy tourist city. Not quite a busy as Orlando or Daytona, but still rather busy.

Well, I never quite know how to address someone depending on the progress of the transistion.

Just address them as whatever gender they are presenting themeselves as.

 

[nutshell]

I hope the city is able to overcome the disruption caused by this bully.

 

[Mathematician]

Well, I never quite know how to address someone depending on the progress of the transistion. If they have already begun transistion with counseling and hormones and living as the opposite gender then I definitely refer to them as the opposite gender, but when I don't know...I don't know. It depends how how they want to be addressed and if that isn't made known then I don't know what to do. It's just strange. I don't want to step on feelings, but...well, it's a confusing subject.

I wonder if she can bring charges against the leadership for discrimination? Where's a Bill Richardson when you need one.

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

Having read about this in other places, this whole business came out as follows:
"Stanton...revealed his secret Feb. 21, a day after a St. Petersburg Times reporter told him the paper had been tipped off and was preparing a story about his decision." http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/16965891.htm

Certainly it's not an ideal way for this sort of thing to go, but it doesn't seem like the best reason to lose a job, particularly since up until now, the city seemed to approve of how she was handling her job.

When you get down to it, the main reason for negative publicity is not Stanton's transition so much as the city's reaction. And you'll have to forgive me when I don't entirely buy that this is not at all about the transition, given the previous reviews and the timing of this business.

By the by, generally speaking, if someone's made it clear that they intend to transition and haven't specifically asked you to use the old pronouns because there are people they don't want to know yet, it's fairly safe to assume they'd prefer the pronoun's of the prefered gender.