Boutique owner Paula McCraney is returning to public service this week as the new Metro Council member for District 7. She was elected in November to represent the area that includes St. Matthews and Indian Hills, and formerly worked in the county clerk’s office.
Hers was one of two Metro Council districts to flip from Republican to Democrat in the last election. McCraney now holds the seat vacated by Angela Leet, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2018. You can listen to our conversation in the player above.
What are going to be some of your spending and legislative priorities during your term?
Keeping the neighborhood safe, that is going to be top priority. If anyone wants more community policing, I will work with police department to make that happen. Traffic, because that's the majority of what I heard while I was running for office, it's going to be right up there.
As a small business owner, how would you rate Louisville's economic and business climate?
We're pretty good at promoting the businesses here and it's not hard to get noticed. What I would like to see more of is some tax breaks. You know, it's really hard for small businesses to thrive when you have to pay some of the same level of taxes as the big boys. I think more people would own businesses...and another thing is the people that do own businesses. There are so many that own small businesses that are not really legal, they're not in the system to pay their taxes. And I think that's a problem for our city. More business owners would love to see some type of incentive to become more viable and not have to pay so many taxes.
How might your leadership be different than what District 7 has seen for the past four years?
I don't know that I can compare it. But I can tell you about Paula. I can tell you that my leadership style is one of collaboration, one of openness, one of strategic thinking, and I'm a pretty decisive person. So I am going to be available. I'm going to be open to great ideas. Any ideas, any questions, any input from District 7 is welcome.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
