Manhattan City Commissioner Usha Reddi Thursday was selected by Democratic Party members to replace retiring State Sen. Tom Hawk by 23 to 19 vote.
Reddi narrowly topped Riley County Democratic Party Chair Katie Allen for the nomination during a convention in the Flint Hills Discovery Center.
The two were the only candidates nominated to fill the remaining two years of Hawk’s term, having each been allotted five minutes to make remarks prior to the ballot.
Reddi will now step up to the Statehouse, currently in her second year of a four-year term serving the City of Manhattan. The chosen successor for Hawk will now need her seat on the city commission to be filled with a replacement as chosen by the current governing body. According to Manhattan Code of Ordinances Article II Sec. 2-16(e), that is to be done by majority vote of the commission “as soon as practicable,” with city code also noting the commission has the discretion to choose the method on how to select the new commissioner “as long as such person meets all qualifications for commissioner” — who would serve the remainder two years of Reddi’s term.
