He is age 75, and was born in Ely, Nevada. He received his B.A. from San Jose State University in 1964 and a J.D. from the University of California School of Law (Boalt Hall), Berkeley, CA in 1967. He was a practicing attorney at Carr Kennedy Peterson and Frost, Redding, CA, specializing in commercial, real estate and natural resource litigation, from 1967 – 2007.