Les has lived in Boise since 1982, the majority of his adult life. Les was born in Rolette, North Dakota, about 30 miles from the Canadian border. Until he graduated from high school in 1967, he lived in rural areas of North Dakota and California, where he learned the importance of hard work.

From these roots, he was able to work his way through college and law school as a dishwasher, clerk and laborer. Among other things, he spent long hard hours working in the fields in California, a tunnel in West Virginia and a rail yard in Washington, D.C.


Les was recently the Executive Director of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center in Boise where he supervised the construction of the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, which stands for the idea that all people are entitled to respect and dignity. This idea is Les' guiding principle and drives his need to help others in the community.


Over the years, Les has worked to make the lives of many people better through his work as a nonprofit lawyer and as a husband and father. He has edited and written several publications, including Idaho's Handbook for Nonprofit Corporations.

Les' work as a leader in the nonprofit field has earned him the right to be called an expert on the subject. He continues to practice law at his office in Boise.



In 2006 Les was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives. Over the course of two years Les has talked to thousands of people and learned a lot about the issues that people of District 16 face. These issues run the gamut from property taxes to education to meth addiction.

Les tackled these issues in the Idaho House of Representatives, and he believes that he can continue to help the people of District 16 as their elected Senator by tackling those concerns and others in the Idaho Senate.