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Stanton Appears On 'Montel' Show Today

Dan Wagner / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Susan Stanton is swarmed by the media as she leaves the Sarasota City Hall on May 30, 2007.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2007

Photo Gallery: Before And After Pictures

TAMPA - Susan Stanton, the former Largo city manager fired this year over a controversial transgender issue, was a guest on "The Montel Williams Show" today.

The taped show, billed as an "exclusive," even though Stanton appeared on "Larry King Live" after her firing, airs at 1 p.m. on WFLA, Channel 8.

Stanton, a transgender advocate who legally changed her name from Steve to Susan in April, discussed her transformation and how she dealt with pressures from the community and her family.

The transgender community has embraced her, naming Stanton the grand marshal of the fifth annual St. Pete Pride parade, which drew tens of thousands of people in July.

Today's show, entitled, "Transgendered: Trapped in the Wrong Body," featured Stanton as the first guest. Williams says Stanton had put, "a face to what transgendering was all about."

Stanton, 48, talked about growing up with suspicions that he was a woman in a man's body and marrying while denying the urges to don women's clothing.

The marriage drove the urges inward for seven years, Stanton said, but they returned and he began looking into the issue on the Internet.

First made up as a woman and looking into the mirror, "I said, 'What have I done? What have I let out,' " she told the talk show host.

She didn't think the transformation would affect her job. "I've been with the city for 17 years," Stanton said. "I did not assume I would be terminated."

Stanton was fired in March after plans to become a woman were made public.

Still, she told Williams, "I think I'm a better person. I think I could have been a better manager."

WFLA is owned by Media General, which also owns TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune. The three news organizations share news-gathering resources.

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