Paris Popack is running for Lawrence mayor, find out why

Lawrence village Trustee Paris Popack announced that she is running for mayor as current municipal leader, Alex Edelman, cannot seek office again due to term limits.

Mayors serve four terms of two years in Lawrence.

A trustee since 2020, Popack, 59, was instrumental overhauling the Zion Park playground, a village facility on Central Avenue, immediately across the street from Village Hall.

“I love Lawrence and want it to prosper and grow,” she wrote in an email.

If elected, Popack said that her primary focus would a safe and secure village and toward that goal lighting improvements are being worked on now.

“Home and dock addresses need to be visible day and night for the first responders,” she said.

A member of the village owned and operated Lawrence Yacht & Country Club, Popack has also been at the forefront of helping to ensure that the country club remains a viable part of Lawrence’s recreational landscape. The facility opened in 1924 and includes an 18-hole golf course, nine tennis courts and a 135-slip marina.

After Trustee Jeff Landy, who was serving as deputy mayor, stepped down from the board last year, Popack was elevated to the appointed post.

“I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll make a great mayor,” Edelman said. “She is very devoted to the Village of Lawrence and I have no doubts of her capabilities and talents, and her love for the village staff.”

In 2018, Popack came forward to help revive the Lawrence Association. The organization that bills itself as the “watchdog” of the village had gone dormant for about a year.
“I’ve been blessed with the ability to have full-time work volunteering in the community,” she said.

With the help of current association president, Jacqueline Handel, the group began hosting issue-oriented meetings, which has continued, including Feb. 29 meeting on overdevelopment at the country club, 101 Causeway, Lawrence, at 7:30 p.m.

“We are saturated with traffic problems,” Popack said. “We need infrastructure and an operating evacuation route in place. We are suburban not urban.”

Involved with Play for P.I.N.K. (prevention, immediate diagnosis, new technology, knowledge) summer fundraiser held at the country club, Popack, as a past women’s tennis club president, and a few other women, have raised thousands of dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“Paris has been a devoted, hard working force in the community and especially dedicated for the betterment of the incorporated Village of Lawrence,” Handel wrote in an email, adding that the Lawrence Association is “delighted” to have a previous president as the village leader. “She is the most qualified person to be our next mayor.”

Popack also served on the village’s Parks Commission before being a board trustee. As a board member, Popack also helped to reestablish the Memorial Day Parade as a community event in Lawrence.

“I have a strong background in serving the community and would like to continue to help the village the best I can,” she said, adding that improving communication with residents through an updated website and social media is also on her agenda.

Originally from Oregon, she came east after entering a modeling contest held by the Famous Ford Models agency. Popack, who has lived in Lawrence for 29 years, met her husband, Joseph, and remained in New York. The couple has four adult daughters.

The village election is June 18. All candidate petition forms are due to be submitted by May 14.

As of press time, no other candidates have announced their candidacy.