JACKSON, Wyo. — Former Councilwoman Jessica Sell Chambers is running for another Town Council term, aiming to fill one of two vacancies.
Sell Chambers was elected in 2020 and served one term before running for mayor in 2024, a title that ultimately went to fellow councilor Arne Jorgensen. In a statement to Buckrail, Sell Chambers said her top priority if elected would be a total rethinking of the 90 Virginian Lane housing discussions: to “completely walk away from the Virginian/Pennrose partnership” and “restart the process properly with experts in the room from go.”
“We need culture change — we either have good deals or no deals,” she wrote. “We’ve signaled to developers that they can come here and direct the public process and that’s what we’re seeing play out with the Virginian.”
Also on her list of priorities: protecting health and human service organizations in the Town of Jackson’s budget process, caring for and compensating town employees, and working with a municipal finance expert to guide budgeting decisions.
“It’s 2026, we have a massive budget, we need experts guiding the increasingly insufficient funds,” she wrote. “Effectively, we have had a bunch of sail boat builders who want to build cruise ships and don’t realize they’re not the same thing. We need to enlist the folks who know how to manage complex, expensive projects and budgets and let them guide us.”
In addition to her goal of enlisting professional advisors for the Virginian Lane and budget projects, Sell Chambers noted she would want to see a change in the way people in elected positions hold the private sector accountable to constituents.
“We need people in office who question more and not assume all parties we engage with are trustworthy,” she wrote.
Sell Chambers said the time away from council has been healing, allowing her time to gain resilience and new perspectives.
“I’m a different person than I was — calmer and very certain in my ability to represent the people in Jackson,” she wrote. “I had been right so often on the council — like with the Virginian — but I was so often ignored. I doubted myself too much. That doubt is no longer there and I see that new council members see the same things I did. We’ll get a lot done for the people.”
Also in the running for the two open seats are current councilmembers Alyson Spery and Jonathan Schechter.
