Update: Fired city manager applies for new job

This is an update on the issue that lead to the arrest of Nadine Smith for handing out fliers at a meeting of the Largo City Commission. Nadine was there in support of Steve Stanton who, following 14 years of generally excellent evaluations, was fired from his $140,000-a-year job as city manager for announcing his plans to become Susan Stanton.

Susan Stanton has now applied for a new job as city manager in Sarasota, Florida.

The Associated Press reports:

Stanton went to a job interview in a white skirt, makeup and pumps, hoping to get hired to lead this more cosmopolitan tourist town.

The city commissioners who interviewed the job candidate hesitated to bring up the one topic on nearly everyone's mind -- Stanton's plans to undergo sex change surgery someday soon and complete the process started when Stanton recently began living as a woman.

So Stanton brought it up.

Stanton, 48, said that having a transsexual city manager would not be as disruptive as they might think. She said that the recuperation time for a sex change operation is minimal and that she would soon step back from the national spotlight.

"It's a legitimate concern and hopefully I've addressed it," Stanton said after the interview. "I have taken the initiative to throw it out and maybe remove it from the table."

The commissioners were expected to vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to hire Stanton or one of four other candidates.

Stanton is clearly capable of doing the job, and maybe the more "cosmopolitan tourist town" will recognize this. Hopefully the Sarasota City Commissioners will put bigotry aside and give Susan Stanton a fair review as they consider who to hire.