Leslie Petersen

Leslie Petersen (born 8 October 1940) is an American Democratic politician from Wyoming. She was the 2010 democratic candidate for Governor of Wyoming. 

Leslie Petersen was born on October 8, 1940, in Lovell, Wyoming, where her father was a forest ranger in the Big Horn Mountains. Her parents later moved to Dubois, Wyoming, and acquired the CM Ranch, one of the oldest and best-known dude ranches in the West. The family was also in the hunting business with two elk camps and a mountain sheep camp. 

Petersen graduated from Dubois High School in a class of five and attended the University of Wyoming in 1958-59. She was on the rodeo team and selected for the Spurs honor society.

In 1975, Peterson moved from the CM Ranch to Jackson. She served as the Executive Director of the Wyoming Environmental Institute, a bi-partisan Board of prominent Wyoming citizens looking for solutions to environmental issues. 

In mid-1983, Peterson was appointed to fill a vacancy as a Teton County Commissioner and later elected on the Democratic ticket for a four-year term, serving through 1988. She ran for Teton County's lone seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1990 and lost to Clarene Law, a Republican businesswoman, and developer. 

Peterson was appointed to the Wyoming Water Development Commission by Governor Sullivan and served for eight years. Governor Herschler appointed her as his Legislative Liaison during the 1981 and 1982 sessions of the legislature. She ran for Secretary of State in 1982 against the 20-year incumbent, Thyra Thompson, and received 46+ percent of the state-wide vote.

In the years 1988-2008, Petersen worked as a Licensed Realtor/Partner with Jackson Hole Realty (now Sotheby's International Realty). 

In April 2009, Peterson was elected Chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party. She remained in the position until May 2010, when she stepped down to run for Governor.

In the general election held on 2 November 2010, she ran against Matt Mead (R), Mike Wheeler (L), and Taylor Haynes (C). She lost with 22.9 percent of the votes to Mead, who had 65.7 percent.

Peterson is married to her husband Hank Phibbs, a Jackson attorney and currently Chair of the Teton County Commissioners. They have two sons: Travis Petersen and Monte Petersen.