Stu Rasmussen made headlines last November when he became the first openly transgendered mayor of the quaint Oregon town of Silverton. And, despite visits from Fred Phelps church and a very small amount of opposition Rasmussen appears to be an accepted and effective city leader. However, this hot weather has gotten him in a bit of hot water when a local woman filed a complaint against Stu for revealing what she called “too much skin” at a meeting with a group of local kids.
Silverton Together Now manager Brenda Sturdevant filed the complaint alleging the city dress code was violated when Rasmussen wore “high heels, a very short skirt and some sort of halter top revealing much of his bosom, shoulders and back” to the meeting of the Apple tree group.
“There was a lot of skin showing,” Sturdevant said. “I tried to call him (afterward) and he never called me back.”
The group is made up of students from third grade up, who were hearing from city leaders about their work in the community. The group holds fundraisers for school supplies.
The city dress code lists mini skirts and midrift tank tops as “inappropriate” attire for council activities.
Rasmussen has responded that the attire was appropriate on a day as “hot and sticky” as the one in question and even things that the dress code should be repealed:
I believed the Council Dress Code was an intrusive and unnecessary piece of legislation when it was first introduced… it is clearly time to rescind this resolution before it becomes an embarrassing public issue for our community
in a school setting, the less skin showing the better. it's distracting for both staff and students to see underwear and skin of anyone in the school. respect the dress code — it's there for a reason!