Indian American Usha Reddi Wins Re-election to Manhattan City Commission in Kansas

Indian American Usha Reddi has been re-elected to a four-year term to the Manhattan City Commission in Kansas. According to local news reports, “Reddi led the field with 3,571 votes, followed by Mayor Wynn Butler with 3,499 votes, and former commissioner John Matta with 3,265 votes.

“Thank you, everyone. I look forward to serving another four years on the city commission,” Reddi tweeted. “It’s been a very competitive campaign and I appreciate all the candidates and their commitment to this community.”

Reddi was first elected to the Manhattan City Commission for a four-year term in April 2013 and re-elected in 2017. She served as mayor in 2016-2017 and 2020. In 2020, she ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Kansas but withdrew before the Democratic primary on Aug. 4, 2020.

She told The Mercury that this was her most stressful city commission campaign. “I wasn’t even sure where I was going to place in this race,” Reddi said. “Even though I have served two terms, I think there were very good challengers. There was a lot of good campaigning going on from everyone, and everyone was vying for all the votes.”

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Reddi’s family immigrated from India to the U.S. in 1973, when she was eight years old. She was primarily raised in Columbus, Ohio, along with her two brothers. She has lived in Manhattan for more than 28 years. 

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology from Ohio State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Kansas State University. She and her husband, Brian, have four adult children: Ben, Ravi, Sri and Santhi.