Stu Rasmussen won the election for mayor of this rural Oregon town by a landslide.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Another Oregon mayor is making headlines, but for some reason nobody is going after Stu Rasmussen for posing in a low cut top. America's first transgender mayor joins the former Mayor of Arlington, Oregon, Carmen Kontur Gronquist, who was blasted over bathing suit photos on MySpace earlier this year, in the ranks of unexpected and offbeat NW media celebrities. (see: MySpace Photos of Oregon Mayor Causing Stir in Arlington)
A very familiar face around Silverton, Stu is no stranger to politics. The last time Mayor Rasmussen held office, he wore men's clothing. He won't be wearing a suit and tie to work though, this mayor is into ladies fashions and make up.
Rasmussen says he is the candidate who will help Silverton keep its small town feel, even if his personal approach reflects the very latest surgical technology.
Appearing on "Good Morning America", Rasmussen said that the town went through the transition with him, and it wasn't always easy. "Obviously, it was shocking to them," he told ABC.
"We all kind of went through it together. It was pretty obvious I was making a change, it had to happen in my head. They were ready before I was."
The old RasmussenHe says appearing as a woman is nothing new, but the idea of becoming one was.
"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."
Those who find it shocking might want to put their seatbelts on, because transgender may become a more widely used term in the near future.
ABC News reports that Tyra Banks' show "America's Next Top Model" will soon debut Isis, its first transgender contestant, when it begins its 11th season Sept. 3. It's a progressive move for a network reality series, but pushing the envelope, in the modeling realm and on TV, has become the MO of "ANTM": The show has cast multiple gay contestants, and last season crowned a plus-size model as its winner.
Rasmussen will head the popular and progressive city of Silverton in Oregon's Willamette Valley and its population of 9,588.
This video posted by The Oregonian on YouTube allows an opportunity to learn more about Stu Rasmussen:
Video
-----------------------------------------------------Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops. Tim recently returned from Iraq where he covered the war there while embedded with an Oregon Guard aviation unit. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
Silverton: Home of Nation's First Transgender Mayor (VIDEO)Salem-News.com