Les Gara is a state legislator, free-lance writer and part-owner of a local restaurant. Born in New York City in 1963, he earned a B.A. in History at Boston University and a law degree at Harvard -- then moved to Alaska in 1988 to serve as a law clerk for former Alaska Supreme Court chief justice Jay Rabinovitz. He went on to become an assistant attorney general, working on the state’s Exxon Valdez oil spill legislation, and a private attorney. Since 2003 Gara has served as a Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 23rd (West Anchorage) District. He’s been re-elected seven times.