Steve Stanton, Karen Doering._______________
Steve Stanton had served Largo, Fla., for the past 14 years as city manager. On Feb. 21, the St. Petersburg Times learned of Stanton's transgender identity and his plans to transition, and Stanton was forced to come forward early with his intentions, resulting in a special session of the city commission on Feb. 27. The body voted 5-2 to fire Stanton from his position despite his successful record of public service.
Stanton had already made plans to discuss his decision in the months to come with his son and colleagues, and had been working with several people, including Mayor Pat Gerard, on how best to approach the situation with the least disturbance to the community of Largo.
The community members that gathered at city hall for the commission's special session were shocked and outraged. Community member Rev. Manish K. Mishra of the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg, Fla., was present at the gathering and said that ' [ p ] eople were orderly for the most part. What was disturbing to me was the tone, the vibe and the feel of what was going on. There was joy, palpable joy and cheering, jumping out of seats and clapping in enthusiasm at the prospect of ruining this man's career. It felt so inappropriate.'
In an e-mail Mishra originally sent to the Windy City Times, he said that a pastor of a local Baptist church went so far as to claim that 'If Jesus were alive today, he would fire Steve Stanton.'
Mishra also said, 'I think what was surprising to many of us in the area was that they called for a public hearing so soon. It didn't seem like there was enough time to process the information beyond the initial raw emotionality of it.
'I do think that the vast majority of the folks that showed up at that hearing were very conservative, and I do think that had an impression on the commissioners who were deliberating his future.'
Although many in the crowd that night were in favor of Stanton's removal from his job, many other members of the Largo community have since come forward in support of Stanton, believing that he should not lose his job over his decision to transition or his identity as a transgender person.
On March 8, Stanton announced his plans to appeal the city commission's decision to begin termination proceedings against him.
Karen Doering, an attorney with the National Center of Lesbian Rights, is representing Stanton in the administrative appeal process. Windy City Times spoke with both Doering and Stanton about the present and the future.
Windy City Times: What is the current situation?
Karen Doering: The next step is going to be the public hearing and that will be our opportunity to do some of the education, clear up some of the myths and the misunderstandings that were so evident at the first public hearing ... We don't know the date yet; it's probably going to be sometime in early April. They've called a special meeting where they're going to decide not any of the substantive issues, but what date and how long we will have. Then we will plan from there.
WCT: Do you think Steve has a chance of retaining his position?
KD: We are very hopeful that this city commission will take the time now and step back to thoughtfully and carefully analyze the information they've got about transexualism; what it is to transition in a workplace; and why it is that he didn't share this secret with them months and months in advance. ... That first ruling, it was a preliminary resolution. The process is designed to take a minimum of two weeks up to a month, so it's meant to be a real deliberative process where people can step back and reflect and get some of the emotions out of it. We're very hopeful that these commissioners will do that.
WCT: What is the city commission claiming as its reason for firing Stanton?
KD: They don't admit that they fired Steve because he's a transsexual and is transitioning from male to female, but that is very clearly what they're doing. ... The reasons and excuses contradicted each other. Some said 'We can't trust you anymore because you had this secret and you didn't tell us,' but here it is—they found out now and it's like a public lynching.
The bottom line is that he was working with the mayor and the top leaders in the city government. They had a transition plan, and it involved education, answering people's questions [ and ] explaining the medical process [ he ] was going through. It absolutely involved notifying the commissioners [ and ] the management team. It involved all of that, but they were trying to work strategically to figure out how to do this to minimize the public impact.
WCT: Congress is once again going to be considering a federal non-discrimination law, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Do you think that this situation in particular will have a national impact on Congress' decision?
KD: I think it has the potential to have a huge impact on the federal discussion. I think that this is a classic example. There is no question that for 17 years this man has been a successful public servant and that the only reason he is terminated today is because he is a transsexual. I think that Americans think that people should be able to keep their jobs regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. That's not even a question; the polls have shown that for many years. We absolutely need a law that makes that very clear that when employers find themselves [ not understanding something ] that they don't act from their gut, but that they stop and think it through. … If we have these explicit protections written into the law, the employer knows 'we can't do this.'
WCT: Steve, where are you at, how are you feeling about things and what are your plans to move forward?
Steve Stanton: The first week, when I was escorted out of the building, I was kind of dejected and depressed. ... Then, the most unanticipated thing happened the next morning: The phone started ringing and it was from people that lived in the community saying how upset they were with the actions that were taking place and [ they were ] demanding and encouraging me to file the appeal. We've got people sending food and flowers. It's been outstanding.
WCT: Are you still planning on moving forward with your transition in the same time frame that you originally intended?
SS: The original time line was May to June before I was ready to really begin that real life experience. ... So yeah, everything is on target and I'm looking forward to showing how a healthy person in a responsible position can do this and do it well.
