“…As far as how that translates into politics? I have to be much, much better. I have to work harder, I have to raise more money, this is just a fact of life. People have no clue what transgender people are. They’ve heard this or that, but the knowledge about who we are has not been out there. Thanks to things like “Transamerica,” people are finding out this has always been around. It’s like a woman running for office has to work harder than a man. It’s the way things are. I know discrimination now, and as a white male, I didn’t. I’ve been in meetings where I have not been called on. It’s very frustrating, but I’m not a wilting flower, so they eventually hear: “Hey, I’m here, and I have something to say.”
In a Newsweek web exclusive, a former man, and a former Air Force sergeant Pam Bonnett says, what it is like to run for the city council office as the only transgender candidate in the United States.