WASHINGTON — Last night, the city commissioners of Largo, Fla., moved to fire long-time City Manager Steve Stanton because he disclosed that he would begin the process of transitioning from male to female. The commissioners voted 5 to 2 to end Stanton’s career. The mayor of Largo and one other commissioner voted in dissent.

The move by the city commissioners is in direct violation of the city government’s own internal non-discrimination policy. In 2003, the town of Largo, Fla., adopted a policy that explicitly prohibits discrimination in public employment on the basis of gender identity and expression. To view the minutes of the meeting adopting the new policy and to read the language of the policy, please visit: www.largo.com/Commission_agendas/commission_packets/oct_14_2003/managers_report.html

“What happened last night in the town of Largo, Florida, is nothing more than a shameful display of ignorance and bias,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “In direct violation of their own city policy, a successful employee of 14 years was moved to be terminated for no other reason than that he chose to live his life being the person he is. For their dissenting votes, Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Rodney Woods will be remembered as being on the right side of history, and we thank them for their courage.

WASHINGTON — ...Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida... was arrested [on Feb. 27] during a heated hearing before the Largo City Commission...

The arrest occurred when Charlie Deppish of Tampa approached Smith and asked her for a flier that said only “Don’t Discriminate.” According to witnesses, Sgt. Butch Ward confronted Smith in the lobby and ordered her to take back the flier. When Smith asked why, Ward reportedly forced her into a side room where several officers violently shoved her to the floor and arrested her. She has been charged with resisting arrest with violence, a felony, and disturbing others’ assembly, a misdemeanor. Smith has been executive director of Equality Florida, the state’s leading LGBT advocacy organization, since 1997 and is nationally recognized for her leadership.

The nation's two largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organizations Friday demanded that charges be dropped against Nadine Smith, the executive director of Equality Florida.

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In a rare joint statement HRC and the NGLTF condemned Smith's arrest and detention and called upon the Pinellas-Pasco state attorney¹s office to immediately investigate the incident and drop the charges.

"HRC joins the Task Force in condemning these actions by Largo police," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.. "Arresting a community leader for simply handing out a flier is disgraceful."

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said Smith's arrest "directly associates the police department of Largo with the appalling bigotry expressed by the hundreds attending the poisonous hearing attacking an outstanding public servant, Steve Stanton."

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"I do not feel he has the integrity, nor the trust, nor the respect, nor the confidence to continue as the city manager of the city of Largo," said Commissioner Mary Black, who led the drive to fire Stanton.

LARGO - City Manager Steve Stanton requested a public hearing on Thursday to convince his bosses he can do his job as Susan Stanton.

And he won't be coming alone.

Advocacy groups have rallied to Stanton's side and hope to use his case to build support for federal legislation to protect gay and transgender employees from discrimination.

Stanton, 48, had been Largo's city manager for 14 years before he was suspended less than a week after he disclosed Feb. 21 that he plans to become a woman.

"A high-profile case like that can put a face on a problem we've known about for a long time," said Simon Aronoff, deputy director of the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, D.C.

"Employment discrimination against transgender people is blatant and common," Aronoff said. "That's why we need protections on the federal level for transgender people."

"The hatred expressed by the mob, the fury that surrounded his dismissal that night by those who justified themselves by invoking God is a frightening and public example of what happens to LGBT people all the time but rarely with such visibility. Largo is a wake up call to those who believe quietly in equality. In your silence, the mob speaks for you and takes your absence as license to systemically ignore the civil and human rights of LGBT people."

City commissioners early Saturday finalized the firing of a city manager who is seeking a sex-change operation, despite pleas from dozens of impassioned supporters to save his job.

After a six-hour hearing, the commissioners decided to fire 48-year-old Steve Stanton after his announcement that he planned a new life as a woman. The move came after the commission voted 5-2 last month to suspend him without pay. Commissioners contended Stanton was being fired because they lost confidence in him, not because he wants to be a woman.

"I think we're pretty well convinced," Commissioner Gay Gentry said. "You have to believe us, you have to trust us, it is not about transgenderism."

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Most of more than 70 other speakers -- including gay and lesbian activists and transgender people -- spoke passionately in favor of Stanton.

"I don't want the city of Largo to be the poster child for bigotry and discrimination," resident Mary Jensen told commissioners.

But others said Stanton bullied city employees, and the publicity generated by his announcement has cast the city in a negative light.

"This little thing has made Largo the laughingstock of the whole country," resident Jimmy Dean told commissioners. "It's a disgrace."

the publicity generated by his announcement has cast the city in a negative light.

"This little thing has made Largo the laughingstock of the whole country," resident Jimmy Dean told commissioners. "It's a disgrace."

The city of manager of Largo, Florida who was fired after revealing plans to begin sex reassignment now is on the shortlist for a similar position in Sarasota.

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Three weeks ago, Stanton applied for the position of city manager in Sarasota. The application bore her new name, Susan, with an asterisk that the name change is pending. Eighteen other people also applied for the job.

The list was whittled down to 11 by city commissioners. Three of those people received unanimous preliminary votes by the commissioners. Stanton was one of them.

The 11 applicants will be reduced to fewer than six after city officials check references and conduct background checks. The final group will receive individual interviews with commissioners and a final selection is expected to be made in June.

The State Attorney's office released this statement regarding Nadine Smith: "The state attorney, having taken testimony under oath at a state attorney investigation, concludes that the facts and circumstances revealed do not warrant prosecution at this time."

Said Smith, in part: "When the charges are dropped the victim is supposed to be so bathed in relief and eager to put a painful chapter behind them that there are no consequences for the officer who has abused his authority. So let me say now that I believe this was an ugly act intended to intimidate people exercising our first amendment rights by an officer who disagreed with our message. How else to explain the rage and the violence of the arrest. Within moments of handing a piece of paper with the words "Don't Discriminate" to a person who asked me for it, I was grabbed, my wrists and arms twisted to near breaking behind my back. I was shoved down a hallway, banged against a wall and slammed to the ground. I believe the people at the hearing who followed the police as they took me away and the photographer who snapped a picture of four officers kneeling on me as I was pinned to the ground may have saved me from greater harm."

LARGO - Depending on who's talking, this week's City Commission vote to seek an investigation into who knew what about Steve Stanton's plans for sex-change surgery is either an attempt to clear the air or part of a smear campaign.

At the request of several outspoken critics of city officials, commissioners voted 5-1 Tuesday night to ask the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to look into whether city officials who knew Stanton's secret violated the city charter by not telling others. Mayor Pat Gerard cast the dissenting vote and called the action "a waste of time and waste of energy. As far as I'm concerned, the city manger telling me he's a transsexual is not misconduct, " Gerard said.

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On May 1, Largo resident Curtis Holmes turned in a petition with 28 signatures questioning whether eight current or former city officials violated the city charter by not telling the full commission what Stanton had told them privately. Holmes could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The petition names Gerard and Commissioner Gay Gentry, along with Stanton, police Chief Lester Aradi, outgoing fire Chief Jeff Bullock, City Attorney Alan Zimmet, and director of human resources Susan Sinz. It also lists Gerard's husband, Eric, and former City Commissioner Pat Burke as individuals whose actions should be scrutinized.

At the Commission's May 1 meeting, former City Commissioner Charlie Harper and resident Chester Rowe also encouraged the investigation.

The 6-page petition claims that section 2.06 of the charter may have been violated. The section says the mayor or a city commissioner must report all violations or neglect of duty or any misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office, or improper conduct by any elected or appointed city office. As an example of Stanton's potential malfeasance, the petition cites "dressing as a woman on city time and conspiring with city employees to keep vital information from the commission."

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Gentry, who voted to request the investigation, said she has nothing to hide and sees other motives behind the petition. "In reality, it's not going to accomplish anything because I believe the purpose of the investigation is to get at the mayor, " Gentry said. "There are also some hurt feelings, because somebody got told before somebody else did."

(Sarasota, Florida) The city of manager of Largo, Florida who was fired after revealing plans to begin sex reassignment, has made it to the final six for a similar position in Sarasota. Susan Stanton, 48, learned this week that she will be interviewed for the Sarasota City Manager’s job. Eighteen people applied for the position and earlier this month the list was narrowed down to 11 people.

After city officials checked references and conducted background checks six applicants, including Stanton, were left. The group will receive individual interviews with commissioners and a final selection is expected to be made in June.

A woman fired by the city of Largo, Florida after revealing plans to begin sex reassignment reportedly is seeking the job of city manager of Tempe, Arizona.