Avanel-Navara will seek House 22B seat

• Avenel-Navara

Avenel-Navara

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WORTHINGTON — Cheryl Avenel-Navara has filed to run for the District 22B Minnesota House of Representatives seat, which is currently held by Rod Hamilton of Mountain Lake.

Avenel-Navara, a retired Minnesota Community and Technical College faculty member, said she has contemplated running for office for quite some time and finally decided the time was right now.

“There were just a whole lot of things — the gridlock, obviously the state shutdown, the bickering, the holding back of education funds, the knocking people off of health care — all those things are important to me, and it’s what moved me to do this,” Avenel-Navara said.

Although she’s been politically active for all of her life, Avenel-Navara said it has mostly been behind the scenes up to this point. Most recently, she’s been involved in the effort for smoke-free housing and the Freedom to Breathe Act and working on the Redesigning MN projects. She was also one of the only residents from southwest Minnesota to testify at the state redistricting meetings.

Having lived and worked in Worthington for more than 35 years, Avenel-Navara said she wants to give the local area more of a voice in the legislature.

“I am running for state office because I think I have the skills needed in the legislature at this time,” she said.

“Like most residents of the area, I know that working together to get something done makes more sense than ‘my way or not at all.’ I know that education is too important to starve by withholding funds. I know that those who benefit the most must give back to the community and the state. And I know that shutting down state government because of a no-new-taxes pledge is absolutely wrong.

“We need to work together, end partisan gridlock, and acknowledge that compromise is not a dirty word,” she added.

In her work with Redesigning MN — a Bush Foundation project designed to spark dialogues about the dramatic shift in the state’s demographics and the impact it will have on state and local government — Avenel-Navara said she has seen the power of citizens coming together in a bi-partisan effort to discuss their ideas and concerns.

“The thing is everything is interconnected,” she said. “If employees don’t have money to spend, then those who produce goods and services can’t sell them, which means that they can’t buy supplies, etc., etc., etc. We need good jobs, good education and a good quality of life for all of our citizens.”

Avenel-Navara also believes that it’s important for women to have a more active role in government.

“We bring a different mindset to the political process,” she said. “We are more cooperative and less confrontational. We see more humanity in things. From my perspective, I see the trees as well as the forest, and I look for unintended consequences.”

As she kicks off her campaign, Avenel-Navara said she looks forward to discussing the issues that are important to the constituents of District 22B.

“I plan on working hard to earn the trust and support of the voters of 22B and to visiting soon with you to talk about the challenges facing our state and how we can work together to make sure brighter days are ahead,” she said.

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