EVANSTON, Wyoming — A Wyoming city council candidate said she doesn't want to quit after community members found her secret online identity, featuring striptease videos and used underwear for sale.
Deborah Reno is a massage therapist, yoga instructor and city council candidate -- with a side business. Her Twitter bio, much different from your typical candidates, saying "girl next door grows up and gets naughty."
"My preference is that that wouldn't have come out and made the news," Reno told KUTV.
Reno hoped to keep her public life separate from what she does online using the name "Mystee Crockett." She can be found online stripteasing in videos and catering to "used panty buyers," with items like "dirty gym shorts" selling for $20, plus shipping.
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"I've been on that website for about a year. We also talked when I decided to run for city council about possible ramifications if that were to be discovered by the community," said Reno.
Opponent Mikal Welling told KUTV that, "This is very unfortunate and so against my own personal moral code and standards."
Reno says she thought selling underwear would be an "interesting experience." She now calls it "an error in judgment" - overshadowing her service to Evanston.
When asked how much the side business paid, she said: "I made respectable money. I guess I can't say 'respectable.' That's really the wrong word. There isn't really any amount of money that would be worth what this is going to do to my family."
Councilwoman Wendy Schuler says Reno is probably no longer electable in the small town. "We are held to a higher standard when we're in the public eye," said Schuler.
Reno says she's deleted all accounts associated with her racier identity. "Mystee is dead. It doesn't change the nature of who I am, but when people know your deepest darkest secrets, they tend to look at you quite differently."
Reno says she's not sure if she'll stay in the race now that her online activities are public. If she drops out, her challenger will take the city council seat.