The newspaper writes:

Stu Rasmussen promised a new administration if he was elected, and he's as good as his word: Silverton residents not only are getting a new mayor; they're also getting a new Stu.

Rasmussen, longtime manager of the local cinema, was also elected mayor in 1988 and 1990, and served four years -- but that was when he was wearing slacks and sport shirts to council meetings. The new Rasmussen -- who got breast implants a few years ago and began calling himself Carla Fong -- wears skirts, lipstick and high heels.

The thing is, Rasmussen's been a fixture in this small former lumber mill town so long, people tend not to pay much attention to what he's wearing.

Earlier this month, Rasmussen became America's first openly transgender mayor. His constituents say they elected him not for his looks, but because he promised to put a halt to the rapid development that has threatened Silverton's small-town charm.

"My first two terms, I was a very straight-looking guy," said Rasmussen, 60, a software engineer who has written on transgender issues. "Now, I writeunder the name Carla Fong, but basically I'm Stu in Silverton. Honestly, it would be too much trouble to retrain the whole town."

...

Silverton appears to have come to terms long ago with Rasmussen's nebulous gender, which he describes as "25%, maybe 30% between" man and woman, and his "adoption of the twins," as the mayor-elect refers to his breast surgery. But he still manages to catch some people off guard.

"Guys come up to me in the bar and say, 'Hate to tell you this, but I saw this woman on the street the other day, and I'm thinking, great legs, nice tan, and she turns around and I go, 'Oh, my God, it's Stu!' " Rasmussen recounts in the deep voice that seems always softened with a trace of humor.

"If I could have a face transplant, it'd be perfect. A face like this, only a mother could love. But people overlook the face now," he says, glancing discreetly down at his tank top, "because there's all this other real estate."

...

Rasmussen already has earned Silverton a dubious measure of national notoriety among anti-homosexual activists. The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., known for its protests across the country targeting gays, plans to picket Monday in downtown Silverton "to speak some words of truth to this 60-year-old pervert," according to the church's website.

But in a part of the country where "small town" is often used as a synonym for redneck, Silverton appears inclined to let Stu and Victoria work out the details of their relationship as they please.

"He's got a lot of supporters in this town. He's super-available, and he's so sensible," said Brenda Marks, who helps run a downtown artists co-op gallery that recently sold a photo of Rasmussen decked out as Marilyn Monroe. "He's not an alarmist; he's not an extremist."

Last update: 11-21-2008 19:18