TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — If she’s selected by a small group of Topeka Democrats to replace a retiring member of the state House of Representatives, Stephanie Mott would be the first transgender member of the Kansas Legislature.

Mott, who’s 57, began living as a woman full time in 2007 and has since become one of the state’s leading advocates for transgender rights.

 

 

I think more important than the idea of being a transgender woman in the Kansas legislature is the idea of being… https://t.co/8kMoKavmLD

— Stephanie Mott (@TransInTopeka) November 2, 2015

 

The Wichita Eagle reports Mott wants to be the replacement for Rep. Harold Lane, a Topeka Democrat who announced his retirement in October.

Mott faces competition for the House post from Carolyn Wims-Campbell, the first African-American to serve on the Kansas Board of Education. Wims-Campbell, an executive member of the Topeka chapter of the NAACP, previously served on the Topeka school board.

The committee will vote on Lane’s replacement Nov. 14.