14 DAY TRIAL // Silverton, Oregon, is the first US city to have an openly transgender mayor. In just a matter of weeks, it might also become the first city in America to have a transgender mayor as a star of his own reality show for educational purposes, as Komo News informs and Oregon Live can confirm.
Stu Rasmussen is a 60-year-old software engineer who has over 20 years of experience in politics. He’s also in a stable relationship with his live-in girlfriend, who says they’ve been together for better and for worse for the past 35 years. There is nothing out of the ordinary with Rasmussen, the people in Silverton say, so this reality show will not be about this peculiarity of his personal life. It will focus instead on the ups and downs of working with small-town government, so, in the end, its purpose will be an educational one.
“We’d like to think it’s going to be educational. A lot of people do not understand how small towns work, how government works.” Rasmussen tells Komo News. “Well, we hope it’s going to be more interesting than the civics class I had in high school.” he adds. However, the mayor will not share more details about the show, neither about the name nor about the network that will carry it. As of now, they are just shooting scenes for a pilot or at least a preview that they can pitch to networks. Rasmussen, it has been said, will not be paid for the pitch, but will take a share of the profits if the show is eventually picked up.
Rasmussen first made the headlines last year, after winning the elections, when he ditched the suits for flowery dresses and killer heels. However, the politician insists, there is really nothing out of the ordinary with his way of dressing. Moreover, he explains, he’s just a “dude” who happens to “appear as a female.” “Right after the election, for some reason, it [my story] attracted a great deal of attention. If you get outside of Silverton for some reason it’s considered unusual that I’d be considered a normal person. But here in town, everybody’s used to me and is like, ‘What's the big deal?’” Rasmussen reveals for the aforementioned publication.
Details on the unique reality show are bound to emerge in the following days, it has been said. For more, keep an eye on this space.