Leslie S. Gara (born February 6, 1963) is a Democratic former member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

, 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. Gara graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

in 1985 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1988. He is of Iraqi-Jewish descent. In June 2018, Gara announced he would not be running for re-election. On September 21, 2021, Gara announced that he would run for governor in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. He has criticized incumbent governor Mike Dunleavy for cutting funding for public education at the

University of Alaska system The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stu ...

. He supports "responsible development" of oil and has vowed to improve energy efficiency standards and address

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, while opposing construction of Pebble Mine to protect fisheries. He also has pledged to protect access to

Abortion in Alaska Abortion in Alaska is legal at all stages of pregnancy, as long as a licensed physician performs the procedure. As of 2016, Alaska does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion. 63% of adults said in a pol ...

. He supports ranking former governor

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

second in the governor's election under Ranked-choice voting.

References

External links

Les Gara for Governor
campaign website
Profile
at the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Ho ...

(archived)
Les Gara
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' * , - 1963 births 21st-century American politicians Alaska lawyers American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent American politicians of Arab descent Boston University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American state legislators in Alaska Living people Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from New York City 21st-century American Jews {{Alaska-politician-stub