Barbara Graves, a well-known Little Rock businesswoman and former member of the Little Rock Board of Directors, has announced her candidacy for state House District 32, which includes parts of west Little Rock and Chenal Valley.
Graves, owner of Barbara Graves Intimate Fashions, is a Democrat. Republican Allen Kerr currently represents District 32 in the Arkansas General Assembly. He was first elected in 2008 and re-elected to a second term in 2010.
Graves said her top priorities were job creation and economic development.
"As a small business owner active in the Little Rock business community, we need a voice in the state House that will be an advocate to create jobs and grow existing businesses," Graves said in a news release. "Any business person can tell you that our budgets are tight, and Little Rock deserves leadership whose number one priority is developing and growing the economy so every family has the opportunity for success."
Graves is a past president of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and has served on the boards of a number of organizations, including the Central Arkansas Executives Association and Centennial Bank of Little Rock. Graves also is the vice chair for Baptist Health Systems. She has owned and operated Barbara Graves Intimate Fashions for 38 years.
Graves resigned from the Little Rock Board of Directors in 2006 to run for mayor in a four-way race that pitted her against Jesse Mason, a former city director, former state legislator Bill Walker and attorney Mark Stodola. Stodola took more than 48 percent of the vote to win that race.
"The people of District 32 want to know that the future of Little Rock will be a place where their children and grandchildren will be able to lead a successful life, and I will work as state representative to ensure we create jobs and advance education so Little Rock has a strong workforce to attract employers," Graves said. "As our state’s capital city, people look to Little Rock as representative of the entire state, and I will make sure that we develop an economy and progressive education system that shows the entire country what makes Arkansas great."
Graves said she had been living in House District 32 for 25 years.
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