City manager seeking sex change operation pleads to keep job

[Herman Munster]

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16964044.htm

LARGO, Fla. - An attorney for a city manager facing dismissal because he's seeking a sex change operation tried Friday to persuade city commissioners to change their minds.

Commissioners who voted 5-2 last month to put Steve Stanton on paid leave convened a final public hearing before deciding whether to fire him. About 230 people turned out, many of them supporting Stanton's decision to have sex reassignment surgery and keep his $140,000-a-year job running this city of 76,000 people west of Tampa.

"The last two weeks have been kind of tumultuous for everybody," Stanton's attorney, Karen Doering, told commissioners. "We really hope today can be about healing and peace and understanding."

Stanton, 48, triggered an avalanche of controversy when he called a news conference last month to announce that he was pursuing plans to become Susan Stanton and wanted to keep his job. But city commissioners said Stanton's announcement caused turmoil and work disruption in the city and decided to fire him. His contract says he can be fired without cause at any time.

At Friday's hearing, Margaret Stumpp, a transgendered woman who works as a top asset manager with Prudential Financial, told commissioners she was able to have sex reassignment surgery with little disruption to her job. Communication and openness was key, she said.

"Thanks to planning and education, my transition turned out to be an unevent," Stumpp said.