SILVERTON, Ore. -- The new mayor of Silverton wears a dress and heels, which would not be remarkable if he wasn't a man.

Stu Rasmussen could be the first transgender mayor in America.

"I'm still a man. I look like a girl. I like that," Rasmussen said.

Like the rest of America, Silverton has had a transformational election this week. Rasmussen won 52 percent of the vote, easily defeating two challengers. He runs the local movie theater and does not shy away from the stage.

Rasmussen said for some people meeting him might seem like a joke at first.

"They're like, 'Am I on candid camera? Is there somebody watching us and laughing at us here?' It takes about 30 seconds to get over that," Rasmussen said.

Many citizens are very supportive of Rasmussen's lifestyle.

"I think it's wonderful. I'm a little jealous though, 'cause he looks better than most of us women in town," Silverton resident Terri Rockett said.

But the mayor-elect is not universally applauded.

"I worked with lesbians and gay people. They don't bother me. But go one way or another, don't do both, 'cause it's embarrassing," said Buster Richards who didn't vote for Rasmussen.

Rasmussen served two terms as Silverton's mayor in the '90s while he was still wearing men's clothes. Voters elected him to the city council in the previous election after he'd begun publicly dressing in drag.

"It's just Stu. No big deal anymore," Rasmussen said.

Politically, he favors better management of the growth of the town rather than growth at all costs.

"He must have been a decent mayor in the past. The rest is incidental as far as I'm concerned," former Silverton resident Joyce Shepherd said.

Rasmussen said if the new president of the United States comes to Oregon during his term, he'll invite him to visit Silverton.

Transgender Man Elected Silverton Mayor