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Usha Reddi
Democratic candidate for 2020 United States Senate election in Kansas
Election date November 3, 2020
Incumbent	Pat Roberts
Personal details
Born	(1965-08-20) August 20, 1965 Rajamundry, India
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Brian Niehoff (m. 2015)
Children	3
Residence	Manhattan, Kansas
Education	Ohio State University (BA) Kansas State University (BS) Kansas State University (MS)
Occupation	Educator and Union Representative
Website	www.ushareddi.com

Usha Reddi (born August 20th, 1965) is an American politician and mayor-pro tem of Manhattan, Kansas. Usha has served on the Manhattan, KS board of city commissioners since 2013. She was reelected to a second four-year term in 2017. On August 28th, 2019, she declared her candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 United States Senate election in Kansas. If elected, she would be the first Hindu to serve in the United States Senate.

Education & Background

Usha migrated with her family from her birthplace of Rajamundry, India to Winchester, Virginia when she was eight years old. The family later moved to Columbus, Ohio. After graduating high school. she attended Ohio State University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in developmental psychology. She married, and her first husband's work took their family to Manhattan, Kansas where she raised three children as a stay-at-home mother.

In 2003, Reddi enrolled at Kansas State University. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. She continued her education at Kansas State and earned a Master of Science degree of educational leadership in 2011.

Career

Upon the completion of her elementary education degree, Usha began teaching first grade at Ogden Elementary School in Ogden, Kansas in 2005. In 2015, she began teaching Title 1 math at the same school. The Title 1 program provides federal funds to school with disproportionately high percentages of students from low-income families, with the intention to create programs that will better children who have special needs that without funding could not be properly supported.

Through her work at the school district, Reddi became the president of the local USD 383 chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union and professional interest group in the United States. The NEA represents public school teachers and other education professionals.

In 2004, Usha was recognized with the Kansas Department of Education Horizon Award, and in 2011 Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 recognized her with the Teacher of the Year award. In 2017, she received the Susan M. Scott Award for Community Leadership from Kansas State University’s Staley School of Leadership.

Mayor and City Commissioner of Manhattan

Reddi first ran for the city commission of Manhattan, Kansas in 2013. Of the seven candidates running, Reddi came in second place and won her four-year term with 17.5% of votes cast.

The city of Manhattan designates one commissioner to serve as mayor based on their election results, to be served on the second or third year of each four year term. Reddi served as Mayor of Manhattan from January 2016 through January 2017.

Reddi was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2017. Of five candidates, she came in first place with 30.5% of votes cast. Reddi serves as the Mayor pro tem. Her second term as mayor will be from January 2020 through January 2021.

During her tenure on the city commission, Reddi has presided over the construction and relocation of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to Manhattan. She also championed the adoption of new language in Manhattan's non-discrimination ordinance which established sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class within the city.

Sexual Abuse

From age 10-16, Reddi was sexually abused and raped by her father, Venkata Yeleti, multiple times while growing up in Virginia and Ohio. Pressured by her family to pursue justice against her father, Reddi provided incriminating recorded phone calls and e-mails between herself and her father to the Winchester, Virginia police. There is no statute of limitations for rape in Virginia. In response to a particular 1975 instance, Yeleti plead guilty to raping Reddi. He will serve one year in prison as part of a plea bargain.