Ashley Hall was born April 3, 1943 in Caliente, Nevada. After high school, he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad at the Nevada Test Site as a cashier and as a signalman. He later attended Brigham Young University and the University of Nevada, Reno. After college, Hall served the City of Las Vegas, Nevada as City Manager. He was instrumental in the initial development of Summerlin, Nevada. After retiring from local politics, he remained active as the President of the Old Spanish Trail Association and as the United States Army Reserve Ambassador.

As an advocate for the gay community in Nevada, Daniel Hinkley has been involved with ACT-UP!– Nevada, served as executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Las Vegas, and in 2001 founded the Stonewall Democrats of Southern Nevada. Hinkley was also involved in the fight to repeal Nevada’s sodomy law in 1993, and, between 2000 and 2002, he was involved with the gay community’s unsuccessful fight against Question 2, which amended Nevada's constitution to prevent same-sex marriage.