He's made headlines across the country, the Largo City manager now fighting for his job because he plans to get a sex change. Now, Steve Stanton is opening up about some private moments, and arguing that his major life change is actually making him better at his job.
Steve Stanton said sitting at home on paid leave a week after coming out as a transsexual is stunning.
"I certainly didn't expect to be fired,” he said. “I was surprised, I wasn't shocked, I was surprised. I didn't think that would happen."
He said the first time he saw himself in a dress was ten years ago, and that it was a defining moment that confirmed his belief that he’s a woman in a man’s body. He said getting a sex-change is actually making him a better city manager.
"If I had the ability to take body and soul and put them in one full individual, and had full use of all the cylinders, I would be a profoundly more effective city manager,” Stanton said.
So, a year ago Stanton started taking medication to do just that.
"Going through the hormonal changes that you go through, it really does sensitize yourself to emotions and empathies that you never would've experienced as just a man,” he said.
And Stanton says the other city employees told him he was a becoming a better city manager.
"The brain remains the same, but you become a fuller individual,” he said. “I mean, people during the last year have been making comments that you seem a whole lot more empathetic. You seem more understanding. You seem a whole lot more patient."
A patience Stanton said he wished those who chose to fire him had show.
Josh Rojas, Bay News 9.