Democrat in Fayetteville seeks seat in state House

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville attorney and small- business co- owner Adrienne Kvello, 39, will make a Democratic bid for the state House District 84 seat currently held by Rep. Charlie Collins, R- Fayetteville.

“I’m running for my family and your family, as someone who wants to be a representative of them more than as a party politician and lobbyists of the NRA,” Kvello said, referring to the National Rifle Association. Collins was chief legislative sponsor of a bill that allows concealed- carry permit holders to take their guns onto state college and university campuses.

“I grew up hunting, hunting squirrels and deer with my dad,” said Kvello, who grew up in Northwest Arkansas and is a graduate of Fayetteville High School. Responsible gun use is not in conflict with measures she supports, Kvello said, such as “full background checks, barring people with a history of domestic abuse from buying guns, and banning bump stocks.” Bump stocks are devices that greatly increase a semi- automatic rifle’s rate of fire.

Kvello and her husband, Eric, co- own Eagle Eye Inspections LLC, a home inspection business. The candidate is licensed to practice law in Arkansas and Oklahoma. She is also a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D. C ., and of the University of Houston Law School in Texas.

Kvello practiced law in Texas until her family moved home to Fayetteville in August 2014, she said.

Another major concern of hers is shared by many Arkansas families, she said: health care.

“We spent $ 17,000 out of pocket on health care last year and, at the rate things are going, will spend $ 20,000 this year,” Kvello said. “That is not sustainable.”

Collins confirmed Wednesday that he is running for re- election.