Padma Kuppa

Padma Kuppa (born August 10, 1965) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 41st House District, which encompasses the cities of Troy and Clawson, from 2019 to 2022. She was the first Asian immigrant and Hindu to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

Kuppa is a mechanical engineer by trade and a community organizer. She has served as President of the Troy Historical Society, which oversees the Troy Historic Village, and is a founding member of the Troy-area Interfaith Group. She is tri-lingual in English, Hindi, and Telugu.

In 2022, Kuppa unsuccessfully ran for the Michigan Senate in the new 9th Senate District following the decennial redistricting process.

Early life and education Kuppa was born on August 10, 1965, in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India into a Telugu family. In 1969, her father began attending Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York, as a graduate student, and later became a post-doctoral fellow. Her mother also went back to school and eventually earned a PhD in biology from Stony Brook and was a post-doctoral fellow at MIT and Georgetown University.

In 1970, during her parents' studies in the United States, Kuppa and her family moved to Long Island where she began attending kindergarten. When she was 15 years old, Kuppa and her family returned to India, unlike most immigrants of the era. Kuppa recalled of her parents' decision: "That move was very difficult. I did not think or behave as an Indian. I was Indian on the outside and American on the inside."

In 1988, Kuppa returned to the United States to attend graduate school at Stony Brook University, her parents' alma mater, as a foreign student. In 1998, Kuppa and her husband moved to Troy, Michigan. Kuppa served on the City of Troy's Planning Commission from 2015 to 2018, having been appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. She was later elected to serve on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals from 2017 to 2018.

In 2018, Kuppa was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. She assumed office in 2019 for the 100th Michigan Legislature, representing House District 41, which encompasses the cities of Troy and Clawson. A Democrat, Kuppa defeated Republican Doug Tietz in the general election, earning 51.3 percent of the vote versus 48.7 percent for Tietz. Kuppa's predecessor, term-limited Republican Martin Howrylak, attended her swearing-in ceremony. During her first term, Kuppa was named Assistant Whip for her caucus. She was also selected to serve on the Energy Committee and the Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee.

In 2020, Kuppa won re-election against Republican Andrew Sosnoski in the general election. She earned 55.04 percent of the vote to Sosnoski's 44.96 percent. For the 101st Michigan Legislature during her second term, Kuppa was selected to serve on the Tax Policy Committee and Rules and Competitiveness Committee, in addition to returning to serve on the Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee. She was also selected to serve as an alternate member for the Michigan Legislative Council.

In 2022, Kuppa unsuccessfully ran for the Michigan Senate in the new 9th Senate District following the decennial redistricting process.

Personal life Kuppa resides in Troy, Michigan, with her husband, Sudhakar Tadepalli. They have two children.