Biography of Mayor Paul Ricketts

F. Paul Ricketts was sworn in as the 5th mayor in the history of the city of Lawrence on December 28, 2007.

Born and raised in Lawrence, Mayor Ricketts has deep roots in the community. He comes from a civic-minded family, and his strong ties to Lawrence are part of the reason why he ran for mayor. Paul learned the importance of public service and giving back to the community very early in life. When Paul's great grandparents, Don and Wilfa Roberts, moved to the city of Lawrence in 1929, they knew they were settling down in an excellent community with strong Hoosier values and a place they could be proud to call home.

Paul is proud of his family's long tradition of community service. And although Lawrence has witnessed  a great deal of growth and change over the past 75+ years, much of the legacy his great grandparent's and others started in 1929 remains — a city built upon a foundation of historic charm and hard-working, community-minded citizens.

Leadership and Experience

For over three decades, Mayor Ricketts has devoted his life to serving the citizens of Lawrence. He has held several positions of responsibility that have enabled him to gain expertise in local government, legislative and political affairs.

As the previous township assessor, Paul has always put statesmanship above politics to address Lawrence's toughest challenges. Paul served as the elected assessor for Lawrence Township from 1996 to 2006. Under his leadership, Paul demonstrated a commitment to the Lawrence community and public service that was second to none.

Paul took great pride in mastering his profession and striving to provide the citizens of Lawrence with the best service at the lowest cost. Paul enhanced the overall professionalism in the assessor's office by ensuring that his staff had the educational certifications and appropriate professional experience. During his tenure, Paul's team members were all certified Indiana assessors and the majority of his staff had the highest level of certification offered by the state of Indiana.

One of Paul's strengths is his ability to initiate new ideas and forge partnerships with others, including community organizations, council members, other municipalities, the government and the private sector, to bring new and improved services to benefit the residents.

Family Man with Family Values

Business and civic service aside, Paul’s focus is on his family. Paul and his wife Karin have been married for more than 20 years and raised four daughters and two sons, all of whom graduated from Lawrence North High School. Both Paul and Karin graduated from Lawrence Central High School Paul and Karin are very proud of their children: two have their Master's degrees, two are in the healthcare profession, and two serve our country in the U.S. Air Force. Three of their children are married, one is engaged to be married, and Paul and Karin are proud to be first-time grandparents.