Les Gara
Les Gara | |
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| Member of the Alaska House of Representatives 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. |
| Political 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 graduated from Boston University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1988.[2] He is of Iraqi-Jewish descent.[3]
In June 2018, Gara announced he would not be running for re-election.[4]
On September 21, 2021, Gara announced that he would run for governor in 2022. He has criticized incumbent governor Mike Dunleavy for cutting funding for public education at the University of Alaska system. 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.[5] He also has pledged to protect access to Abortion in Alaska.[5]
He supports ranking former governor Bill Walker second in the governor's election under Ranked-choice voting.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Juneau, Andrew Kitchenman, Alaska Public Media & KTOO- (August 20, 2021). "Former state Rep. Les Gara becomes fourth candidate for Alaska's governor". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Les Gara's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- ^ "Alaska's Jewish community predates US settlement". Anchorage Daily News. February 12, 2012.
- ^ Mauer, Richard (June 5, 2018). "Les Gara says he's quitting the Alaska Legislature". KTUU. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ a b c admin. "Issues". Les Gara. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Les Gara at Wikimedia Commons
- Les Gara for Governor campaign website
- Profile at the Alaska Legislature (archived)
- Les Gara at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Democratic Party nominees for Governor of Alaska | ||
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| This article about an Alaska politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1963 births
- Alaska lawyers
- American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent
- Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
- Harvard Law School alumni
- Jewish American state legislators in Alaska
- Living people
- Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives
- 21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature
- Candidates in the 2022 United States elections
- Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska
- Politicians from New York City
- 21st-century American Jews
- Alaska politician stubs