Councilman Paul Ridley was first elected to the District 14 position of the Dallas City Council in June of 2021. He was reelected in June 2023, and is currently serving his second term. Councilman Ridley attended the University of Michigan, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree and master’s degrees in architecture and urban planning.

After graduation, he took his first job as a staff planner for the City Plan Commission of Kansas City, Mo., and later went to work for an architecture firm to complete the requirements to become a licensed architect. Later, he decided to get a law degree and moved to Texas to attend the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. Following admission to the bar, Councilman Ridley practiced construction law and commercial litigation in Dallas for more than 30 years, during which time he founded three different law firms. He lives with his wife Joan in a century-old home in an Old East Dallas historic district, where he has lived for nearly 30 years.

Councilman Ridley has been committed to public service in Dallas for more than 15 years. He served on the Dallas Plan Commission for eight years representing City Council District 14. While on the Plan Commission, he chaired the Thoroughfare Committee for several years. He also represented District 14 on the Dallas Landmark Commission for four years, helping to preserve Dallas’s historic neighborhoods