Les Gara | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Member of the AlaskaHouseofRepresentatives from the 23rd district | |
| In office January 20, 2003 –January 15, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Eldon Mulder |
| Succeeded by | Zack Fields |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 6,1963 New York City,New York,U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Kelly Gara |
| Education | Boston University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Leslie S. Gara (born February 6,1963) is a Democratic former member of the Alaska House of Representatives,having represented the 23rd District from 2003 to 2019. Gara is also a former assistant attorney general and part owner of a local restaurant in Anchorage,Snow City Cafe. [1]
Gara was born on February 6,1963,in New York City. [2] He is of Iraqi-Jewish descent. [3] He first started attending Freeport High School in 1977,graduating in 1981. [2] Gara graduated from Boston University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. [2] He then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1988. [4] He served as a law clerk for Justice Jay Rabinowitz of the Alaska Supreme Court and was also an assistant attorney general. [2] During his time as assistant attorney general he worked on the prosecution of the Exxon Valdez oil spill civil case. [5]
He was a former member of the Alaska House of Representatives,having represented the 23rd District from 2003 to 2019. [6] [7] In June 2018,Gara announced he would not be running for re-election. [8]
On August 20,2021,Gara announced that he would run for governor in 2022. [1] He has criticized incumbent governor Mike Dunleavy for cutting funding for public education at the University of Alaska system. [1] He supports "responsible development" of oil and has vowed to improve energy efficiency standards and address climate change, [1] while opposing construction of Pebble Mine to protect fisheries. [9] He also has pledged to protect access to Abortion in Alaska. [9] He supported ranking former governor Bill Walker second in the governor's election under Ranked-choice voting. [9] In the election,he received 24.21% of the vote,and was defeated by incumbent governor Mike Dunleavy. [10]
Media related to Les Gara at Wikimedia Commons