Carol Gault said she will step down as executive director of Paducah Main Street to run for city commissioner.

Gault, 38, has led the Main Street program for five years, working with merchants and city officials to increase economic development downtown.

Chairman Bruce Brockenborough said the executive committee will meet next week to start discussing Main Street’s future direction and staff organization.

“Carol has fundamentally changed the way Paducah Main Street works for the positive,” he said. “Because of her hard work, we have people like Argentinean Grill and Hooper’s coming downtown. She’s going to be missed, but she’s taking on a role where she can help us even more, hopefully, with the city commission.”

Gault said she believes her Main Street experience is a strong foundation for serving as a city leader.

“We’ve been able to cover so much ground downtown and make so many changes here, and for me this is the next level,” Gault said. “I’ve had the opportunity to work inside for the last five years and see the inner workings (of the city), so I feel like I could bring a lot to the table through that knowledge.”

Gault said she will stay with Main Street long enough to ensure a smooth transition, but wants to step down before the May primary to eliminate any appearance of a conflict.

“I don’t want there to be any question, because we do receive city monies,” she said.

In addition to economic development efforts, Gault said she wants to see the city increase communication with residents.

“One way I think Main Street has been so successful is we’ve listened to the needs of what people need downtown and tried to figure out creative ways to make that happen,” she said, adding that she wants to extend that process to the community as a whole.

Gault said she also wants to ensure residents have access to information about the city and that city government continues to become more efficient.

“We work hard as a city, but we could work a little smarter,” she said. “We’re on a great path ... but we can always kick it up a notch.”

Gault said she intends to file her candidacy papers with the county clerk this week.