Transgender Man Elected Mayor

When Stu Rasmussen mounted his political comeback, he did it in style -- with high heels and breast implants.

Rasmussen served two terms as mayor of Silverton back in the late '80s and early '90s, before his sexual reawakening. Now, he sports long curly locks of red hair and a new, can-do attitude.

"I just happen to be transgendered -- something I didn't even know the word for until I discovered it on the Internet," he says on his Rasmussen for Mayor website.

"I've been a crossdresser or transvestite my whole life, only 'coming out' recently and thereby discovering that life goes on very nicely."

Silverton's 10,000 residents don't seem to mind about their mayor's transformation, electing him by a 13 percent margin. As Gail Frassenei told KGW.com, "He wants to maintain the integrity of Silverton.

"I think it's amazing a small town like this can be so open-minded, to elect someone that's made a life change."

Forget Barack Obama's "Change We Can Believe" … Rasmussen offers "Change That Our Parents Might Never Approve Of" and if you thought Joe Lieberman crossed party lines too many times, maybe Joe should party with this guy. Photo of Stu Rasmussen.

Weird News Highlights

• Rubbed the Wrong Way: Man, allegedly unhappy with massage, impersonates cop to get even with masseuse (Dumb Crime Du Jour);
• Making a Point: Swedish transsexuals win right to get free prosthetic penises (Love Sex & Marriage);
• Amputee Wannabes: Doctor identifies condition in which an otherwise healthy person tries cutting off a limb (Mod Modification);
• Long Goodbyes: Chicago women found with skeletal remains of siblings in her apartment (Morbid Pleasures);
• Out of Uniform (Except for Shoes): Nude Japanese major arrested in convenience store shopping for pantyhose (Nude News);
• Winging It: Pilot goes blind midflight, lands plane safely(Minor Miracles).

Photo © Robert A. Baker/Getty Images