America's First Transgender Mayor: Stu Rasmussen

SILVERTON, Ore. — 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.

Silverton has made Rasmussen the country's first openly transgender mayor, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that works to help openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people win elected office.

Rasmussen, 60, unseated incumbent mayor Ken Hector, with whom he had long clashed, by 1,988 votes to 1,512.

Because Rasmussen's appearance was no secret, the campaign was dominated by policy issues.

"I've blackmail-proofed myself," Rasmussen said.

The story of Rasmussen's election was first reported by JustOut, a bimonthly publication for Portland's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

"Stu never sought this recognition out," said JustOut reporter Stephen Marc Beaudoin. "He's interested in doing a great job for the community that he loves. The gender identity thing is just a total backseat thing."

That comes across when Rasmussen speaks in his decidedly masculine voice.

"I am a dude," he said. "I am a heterosexual male who appears to be a female."

His longtime live-in girlfriend, Victoria Sage, told The Oregonian newspaper that she and Rasmussen have been an item for almost 35 years.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Comments

[Mason]

I can't help but think of Mr. Spock as I read through the comments. With left eyebrow at attention, he speaketh, "Fascinating."

Gender identification certainly is a sensitive issue, isn't it?

I wonder why so many humans elevate gender identification to taboo status? What fear drives this hypersensitivity? Might the answer be found in the realization that our souls are immortal and our bodies are but vehicles that we inhabit for a lifetime to experience linear time and the physical dimension?

I believe I have experienced more than a thousand lifetimes some lifetimes as male, some lifetimes as female, and some lifetimes as one of the many permutations and combinations of the two. I no longer see myself as one or the other, but as both living in the body I currently inhabit.

Perhaps the fear response to gender identification issues is the body's way of concealing our real selves from our minds . . .

These hypersensitive areas of our conscious awareness may be nothing more than cloaking devices designed to keep us from knowing ourselves and this is why I believe that the path to self-knowledge is navigating the uncharted territory of our hypersensitive areas that provoke heightened fear in our conscious awareness.

Does anyone else have the same impression or am I alone in this?

[MarkInEugene]

Very well said and you display a mind wide open to possibilities. We need more of that kind of fearless intelligence when considering gender identity and the rigid roles we adhere to and why.

As for the fear; I believe that comes from our continued reliance on belief borne out of thousand year old religions that have long since lost their relevance particularly in the area of human sociology and sexuality.

Today we focus on very narrow roles that stifle creativity and maintain conformity because we don't have the support to make our lives a canvas of colors. Perhaps in the future we will place more emphasis on intelligence, wisdom, health, consciousness and creativity.

[justShareandbeNice]

I live just a few miles from Silverton, Oregon -- in Salem. I had never heard about this mayor until just a couple of days ago! I wonder if our paper (the Statesman Journal) has even covered this. I would suspect they haven't, perhaps because they don't want to spotlight it and seem to "approve" of Stu or Silverton residents supporting him.

I admit I was shocked to read about this. It does seem very strange, no matter what your political leaning.

It's hilarious because people tend to think those who live in and around Salem are so conservative. Now we are on national TV! It is a real mix here. Oregon is a wonderful state in many ways, very open minded (generally speaking). There are farms all around Silverton (the entire area is called the Willamette Valley). I keep imagining those farmers and rural folk chatting and what they are saying about Stu. He would not have gotten re-elected without their support, I believe.

Our Mayor in Salem is quite conservative and oh my gosh I wonder what she thinks about Stu. :-)

Silverton is a really nice town, by the way. The Oregon Garden, a huge public garden, is located there, and a really cool hotel opened up recently in the Garden. Book a trip and see if you can spot the mayor! And visit Salem, while you are at it. We have a lot to offer. Of course Portland is teeming with progressives, too. :-)

[lioness39]

Kudos to Silverton, Oregon.

[HC4BO]

Rasmussen ... ? Any Relation ... ?

[Mason]

When a person overcomes fear of what others might think of them, he or she can cast aside the strictures of modern society and dress any damn way they want. A man can wear make-up and dress in women's clothing and a woman can dress in men's clothing with or without the make-up.

Why not celebrate every day like Halloween?

When one considers the masks each of us wears every day, one begins to realize that the way we dress is but another extension of what we do each day. Rather than ask why someone would choose to dress himself or herself in the style of the other gender, why not ask why not?

[AZDillinger]

weird.

[paganmist]

Oh my god. This is fabulous! I love this!

There is hope for America yet, when someone can be chosen on merits, and not on what they look like, or what their sexual/gender preferences are.

We can totally do this, America.

Keep putting competence above appearances!

[MakeAWish]

Stu has lived his whole life in Silverton. People there see Stu for Stu. He is the same smart and caring
man that he was before coming out almost 15yrs ago. Silverton is so over this no news story.

[RuffNReddy]

Doesn't transgender mean one has had a sex change?
Is he pre-op?
And you know what? Whatever, clothes are clothes.
Is he a good mayor? That's all that counts.

And to the person who said we're all a bunch of PC folks:
If you get informed about this stuff than it's harder to judge because you start to see the struggling human inside just wanting to be who they are, on the outside, too.

Example: If the Mormon Church took the time to know and meet gay families they'd probably
realize that OMG! They are just like the rest of us! And their kids are well rounded, modern, progressive thinkers... um...probably because they're being embraced by this new, forgiving generation.
Ah...but, then the biblical river of hate runneth through and the questions of equality and differences surface and these poor families are scrutinized and proverbially stoned for the sake of what?
No one gets hurt in a same-sex marriage except the slight bruising of biblical thinking.
News flash: this is the 21st century man! Let's progress! (also, do your homework, same-sex unions have been around since the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, even in the Orthodox Church as far back as the 4th C)

What happened to love thy brother? And the acceptance that Jesus supposedly philosophized about?
Hypocrites. That's what they all are. A bunch of tight wad, sexually frustrated hypocrites with a lot of dough.
But, money can't buy you love.

[aflurry]

i think transgender is a catchall term for people who identify that way, regardless of their physical configuration.

trans-sexual means post-op.

trans-saxual means alto....

[RuffNReddy]

You're right.
I was thinking of trans-sexual.
I got winded in the flurry of typing.

I know some of both.
But, don't know anyone who plays sax.
Least of all... sopranno!

[IssyWise]

Gee, Largo Florida couldn't even stand to have a transgender city manager employee. His very existence brought the pastor of storage unit churches to town hall where the cowards on the city council sent the hapless fellow elsewhere even though he'd done a good job for years.

Ah................democracy: its results are not better than we are.

[steamboat]

Since all the people on this blog are so PC, all I'll say is NO COMMENT (LOL)

[aflurry]

good one...

...not really.

[bmermaid]

By the article, it sounds like he is a cross-dresser, not a transgender, since he has a long-time girl-friend.
Cross dressers are often heterosexual.

[silverystar7]

Transgenders can be of any sexual orientation and cross-dresser is one among many transgender identities. Per Wikipedia, "While people identify as transgender, transgender identity includes many overlapping categories. These include cross-dresser (CD); transvestite (TV); androgynes; genderqueer; people who live cross-gender; drag kings; and drag queens; and, frequently, transsexual (TS)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender

[yoli647]

Well, all I can say is I wish you good luck!!

[bbridges1962]

Only in America !!

[ReasonableBill]

It is good to see at least one American town is progressive. The same cannot be said of Largo, FL whose lawmakers went on a complete witch hunt against existing, liked and professional Town Manager of years Steve Stanton was "outed" in advance of his own time schedule to become Susan Stanton. Then again this is Florida. The weather being warm and has toasted many of the residents brains, since birth. We call them "Bible thumping rednecks", they have been here for years and more are raised every year.