She grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Stanton is married to Donna Becker and they have a teenaged son named Travis. Stanton became the subject of national and international media attention in February 2007 after disclosing that she is transsexual and is pursuing sex reassignment, leading Largo city commissioners to initiate the process of ending his contract as city manager, a decision which Stanton is appealing. Stanton asked to be referred to by the male pronoun until her transition was complete.