Sara Flitner

Meet the Locals

Interview By Ben Graham

Like many who have come to call Jackson Hole home, Sara Flitner didn’t intend on staying long-term when she first landed here as a college student in a seasonal job. Twenty-five years later, though, Flitner is not only still here but, last January, was sworn in as Jackson’s mayor. The forty-eight-year-old says it was the people she met that kept her in this valley. Over her decades in Jackson Hole, Flitner has started a family—her husband, Bill Wotkyns, is a businessman, and their kids, Pete and Silas, are thirteen and fifteen—and had multiple careers. Her current one is doing executive coaching and leadership development; formerly she worked with legislators in Cheyenne. When Flitner, who grew up raising 4-H animals and had daily chores on a cattle ranch outside of Shell in the north-central part of the state, entered politics as a candidate herself for the first time last year, it wasn’t easy: she won by just forty votes.

Q: How’d you get to Jackson from Shell?
A: I came for a summer and worked at Jedediah’s. My best friend from college was here, and the waitressing money was good.

Q: You grew up in Wyoming; had you ever been to Jackson before?
A: I had. My family didn’t come every year, but we’d come to ski and visit like lots of people. I was probably in the fourth grade or so when we started coming.

Q: What did you think about the valley?
A: My first impression was how incredibly high the snowbanks were in the street. We would stay at the Anvil [Motel] and walk around downtown, and I remember these huge twelve-foot embankments. And I also remember the haystacks.

Q: When did you realize this was going to be your home?
A: Even when I was waitressing and not yet employed with a real job, it was clear there were interesting, passionate people here who wanted to protect this place. That’s a sign of vitality. There’s energy in being surrounded by people who feel there is important work to be done and are willing to do it. I saw that as soon as I moved here.

Q: What did you give up to stay here?
A: Law school. In my first year here I recognized I didn’t want to be a lawyer.

Q: When you were waitressing, did you ever think you’d run for Jackson’s mayor?
A: No. It’s kind of mind-blowing to think about.

Q: What was it like being a twenty-something here in the early ’90s?
A: Exciting. We experienced the same pressures everyone talks about today. Housing was always a worry. We worried that if we stayed here, could we find jobs that allowed us to afford to have a home and a family.

Q: How’d you transition away from waitressing?
A: I did what everyone does—got my real estate license. But I was the worst Realtor on the planet. That lasted just six months. I saw a Chamber of Commerce advertisement for a marketing assistant. I got that job and ultimately became the visitors council director. By then I had been here for four years. That sounded like a long time.

Q: Did you ever think about leaving?
A: No. There were times my husband got job offers in other places, but I had my heels dug in. We were not leaving.

Q: What’s the biggest difference between you and Mark Barron, the former mayor [of twelve years] and a friend of yours?
A: I’m shorter!