Opinion: Largo officials bow to mob, prejudice

The Largo community and most of its elected officials turned on City Manager Steve Stanton and kicked him to the curb Tuesday night, less than a week after learning that he plans a sex-change operation. That they made an attempt to link their decision to issues other than his gender orientation only makes their action more offensive. They accused him of lacking integrity, honesty, professionalism and leadership, but their treatment of him Tuesday night grew out of prejudice, misinformation and religious intolerance.

Stanton committed no crime. He was not guilty of corruption or failure to do his job. He had worked for the city of Largo for almost 17 years, 14 of them as city manager, and until a week ago he had earned the support of the public and most of the city commissioners he had served during those years. The current commission praised him in his most recent evaluation and gave him a big raise.

But in what must have been an especially bitter moment for Stanton, that support evaporated Tuesday night. By a vote of 5 to 2, commissioners hurried to put him on administrative leave, planned a required second vote to affirm his firing and appointed an interim city manager.

Commissioners had received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls from Largo residents who disapproved of Stanton's very personal decision to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. Tuesday night's special commission meeting was a spectacle, with almost 500 people jamming City Hall and many of them demanding that commissioners oust Stanton.

Some cited religious reasons for their disapproval, with one speaker even saying he could "guarantee" that Jesus would want Stanton terminated. When did Jesus ever lead a mob? Others accused the city manager of being immoral because he was going to change his gender, or deceitful because he didn't reveal his plans to the public sooner. But the attitudes on display in Largo the past week provided the perfect illustration of why Stanton wanted to keep his personal struggles quiet until he was sure of his decision and had developed a good plan to unveil it.

The only commissioners who stood by Stanton were Rodney Woods, the city's first African-American commissioner, and Mayor Pat Gerard, the city's first female mayor. Gerard, who did a good job of controlling the meeting, was especially eloquent, saying it is hard to stand up for people who are different, but she was asking Largo to do it.

"I believe we have the future of this city in our hands tonight," she said. "I think we're ready."

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Comments on this article

by peggy	03/08/07 11:34 AM
my other openion is the CHURCH, is your church sinner free.GO feed the homeless,save the ozone,and by the way pay taxes,last I heard religion &POLITICS were seperate.IF JESUS were therehe would have said do unto others,MR. pastor you are not doing th

by peggye	03/08/07 11:26 AM
judge not les ye be judged,also let me know who amoung you live in that glass house. shame on the county comm'sgive him back his job........

by Judith	03/05/07 05:12 PM
Being born transgendered is a birth defect. It's that simple and plain. Just like being born with a hole in the heart, how can anyone accuse the child of "choosing" this defect? This isn't about "sex"; it's about gender identity. It's about humanity.

by Karen	03/03/07 10:00 PM
The commissioners showed not only a lack of integrity, honesty, professionalism, and leadership, but also a glaring lapse of knowledge of liability, a price which will be paid for by the public they pretend to protect and represent.

by Richard	03/02/07 08:47 PM
As an outsider looking in, I'm curious to know: After his sex change, will he/or she, be in violation of Florida's same sex marriage law, since his sex change will result in the marriage of 2 females?

by Ed	03/02/07 02:42 PM
When I first read this story the other day, I send an email telling them that they would be really subjecting themselves to a wrongful termination and discriminatory action if they proceded. I also told them they were in need of education on the issu

by Rebekka	03/02/07 02:28 PM
I wonder if Mr(s) Stanton would fight it, but this sounds like a sex discrimination case, if I ever heard of one! What part has gender ever played in his performance? Why fire h(er)im now? Wait until the next election to see who's standing then.

by Morgan	03/02/07 02:17 PM
I have a rule here in my house, no travel to cities, towns, states or countries that demonstrate by their governments and popular opinion animosity to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trangendered persons. Largo can do without my tourist dollar.

by Lily	03/02/07 02:06 PM
Looks like you have a bunch of ¨COUNTRY BUMPKINS¨in Largo.That is what the people who opposed me last March were refered to as by the PRESS in Ocean County NJ.WAKE UP & GROW UP LARGO Lily McBeth

by Lily McBeth	03/02/07 01:58 PM
Speaking religion ,while practicing BIGIOTRY.

by JB	03/02/07 11:08 AM
Wally, Majorities vote. Mobs pack hearings with shills carrying pitchforks and purposely misinterpret scripture and win through intimidation.

by Jordyn	03/01/07 10:24 PM
Those so called christians violate the base for their own religion. How would they know what God wants? Ever heard of Judge not and you will not be judged? Do unto others? This is simply evil and based in hatred. They are disgrace to christians.

by Wally	03/01/07 08:01 PM
I'm confused... what's the difference between majority rule and mob mentality? Either way, what a freak show that the government's hired help has turned into !!!

by Tom Peterson	03/01/07 06:13 PM
What was the point in outing Mr Stanton other than for sensationalism. I am disappointed in the St Pete Times. They bungled the Foley story and to appease the Conservative's dragged this poor guys life before the crowd like Springer fodder.Integrity?

by Jim	03/01/07 06:10 PM
Was it not your paper that got this tip and gave Mr. Stanton a deadline to go public before you printed the story. Based on this editorial,why did you consider this front page news? You knew what the public reaction would be..You destroyed this guy.

by rosie	03/01/07 05:42 PM
Get a clue, Willy, it was an editorial. Editorials are never signed because they represent the opinions of the publishers. Too bad you are not educated enough to understand that.

by Brian	03/01/07 05:41 PM
Remember that it was in central Florida where the Ray family received threats and their house was burned to the ground because their children had aids in 1983. When is the hate going to stop?

by Lisa	03/01/07 05:39 PM
Isn't the number one rule of professionalism "leave your personal life at home?" If any other City of Largo employee were causing this kind of disruption in the workplace, management would have found a way to terminate their employment.

by KB	03/01/07 05:27 PM
No surprise here--Largo is a right wing town. The high school library cancelled a gift subscription I was sending to them of The Nation. Who turns away free library materials? The Largo morons, that's who.

by Lee	03/01/07 03:56 PM
I love how both sides claim the other is wrong then say things like,"They just think with their minds instead of closing them." Funny how it is "mob mentality" when it involves something they disagree,but the majority is right on the Iraq War.

by Jamilhussein	03/01/07 01:25 PM
Yep, only in the western world would we even have this debate. Only in the western world does Stanton have a shot at redress.

by Mary	03/01/07 12:14 PM
Shame on the three Largo commissioners who voted to oust Stanton and shame on those who claim to be Christians. I wouldn't want any of them representing me. Stanton has a superior background. He's just trying to correct the mistake nature made.

by Willy	03/01/07 11:16 AM
Will the author of this story please stand up? I'd like to debate this issue with you, but you have chosen to hide behind anonymity.

by mike	03/01/07 11:12 AM
It's sad that christians hide their hatred and bigotry with comments like: It's what god would want...just come out and admit that it's all about the fact the religious fanatics hate people who are different...

by Dean	03/01/07 10:58 AM
Dear Lord, please save us from your phony followers. Too many people actually believe that these bigots represent Christianity when the truth is they are agents of evil and only distort the teachings of Jesus.

by ford	03/01/07 10:32 AM
Agree w/Rick! True Christians do not judge, or so I thought. Transsexuals must undergo tons of counseling to prove themselves mentally competent before proceeding w/surgery. I'll leave the competency calls to those trained professionals- not bigots.

by Sarah	03/01/07 10:04 AM
Monty: AMEN! The Times has a lot to apologize for in this mess.

by JT	03/01/07 10:01 AM
Do you really think Largo would have hired a crossdresser or transsexual as Stanton is/will be? No, why? Because he is/would be bringing his personal life to work when asking to acclimate his employees to this situation. Why should they endure that?

by MELIS	03/01/07 09:45 AM
You know, it's the people like you who actually discriminate. You demand we accept behavior that is not only bizarre, but completely unacceptable and have them in leadership positions. people like you are the real intolerants.

by Bill	03/01/07 09:40 AM
I agree. Let's get a real movement going to tax the churches. They have become the anti-Christ. Why do they get to pay the anti-tax?

by Ashley	03/01/07 09:09 AM
Wow Jason, you are WAY off the mark and it is people like you who make me disgusted at humanity. I am so glad I am not a resident of such a narrowminded city. I hope Stanton sues and takes all of Largo's money with him.

by geezersgal	03/01/07 09:08 AM
Hundreds of emails and phone calls out of a population of how many? That hardly sounds like more than a small bigoted minority. The commissioners should listen to the silent majority who it appears really don't care about this issue.

by Molly	03/01/07 09:07 AM
Jason, sadly you are wrong. God had a reason to create people different, and each in his/her own way must accept that challenge. God's role for the rest of us is to support a person for his/her good works and leave their personal choices to God.

by Kristin	03/01/07 09:06 AM
Mentally competent?? He has been mentally competent for 14 years as the City Manager.Do you really think Stanton made the decision to change his sex overnight? The decision to terminate him had nothing to do with competence!

by JB	03/01/07 09:04 AM
When something goes your way it's "democracy" at it's best, but when an unpopular decision is made suddenly it's the "mob" mentality. Another example of ACLU hypocrisy. Who wrote this editorial anyway?