David Oh

David Henry Oh (born March 8, 1960) is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the Philadelphia City Council from 2012 to 2023.

He was the first Asian American elected to the city council.

Oh was the Republican nominee in the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election.

Oh was born in Philadelphia on March 8, 1960.

He grew up in Cobbs Creek.

His father, Ki Hang Oh, was a pastor.

Oh graduated from Dickinson College and Rutgers Law School.

He became a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1985.

After graduating from law school, Oh worked for three years as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia.

He resigned to join the U.S. Army in 1988 and served until 1992 as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army National Guard.

He returned to Philadelphia and opened a solo law firm.

In 2003 and 2007, Oh ran unsuccessful campaigns to win one of the two minority party at-large seats for the Philadelphia City Council.

In both elections, he was defeated by Jack Kelly and Frank Rizzo Jr.

In 2008, he merged his firm with Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy, P.C.

Prior to running for office, Oh worked for Mayor Ed Rendell's transition team as well as on Governor Tom Ridge's trade mission to South Korea.

In 2011, Kelly did not run for reelection, and Rizzo was defeated in the Republican primary.

In the general election, state representative Denny O'Brien received the most votes for Republican candidates to take one of the at-large seats, and Oh narrowly defeated former mayoral candidate Al Taubenberger for the final seat.

Oh was the first Asian American to be elected to the city council.

After his election, he was selected as minority whip.

During the 2011 campaign, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that Oh had falsely claimed to have served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces during his three campaigns for city council.

Oh responded that he did wear a green beret in the Special Forces Group of the Maryland National Guard but did not complete full Special Forces training.

After facing criticism from veterans, he apologized for overstating his military credentials.

On February 13, 2023, Oh resigned his seat in the City Council to be the sole Republican candidate for the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election, winning the Philadelphia Republican Party endorsement at his announcement and winning the nomination unopposed on May 16.

During his campaign announcement Oh stated that he had exhausted all possible avenues of reform on the City Council and that he will "take all the things I could not do on council and do that for the city as mayor."

Oh called himself the "first credible [Republican] candidate in 20 years" and touted his experience winning elections to the city council in his hope to snap a 70-year Republican losing streak for mayor, and become the city's first Asian American mayor.

He had previously hosted South Korean officials in 2012 to "promote Philadelphia as a globally competitive city."

Oh was reelected to the council in 2015.

During the primary campaign for his reelection, he took an illegal $20,000 campaign donation while advising the donor how to avoid campaign finance laws.

He returned the money and was fined $2,000 for the violation.

In addition, Oh had three of his city employees fined for working on his reelection campaign while on city time.

After an investigation by the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, the employees were fined a combined $3,300.

Although council employees are prohibited from political fundraising, many violations involved working on fundraising events for Oh.

In 2015, Oh helped raise money for a statue commemorating William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, a World War II veteran.

In 2016, Oh organized the first annual First Responder Appreciation Day, which honors police, firefighters, and paramedic units.

He also traveled to South Korea to discuss investment opportunities in Philadelphia with representatives of the South Korean government and business sectors.

In 2017, Oh introduced a resolution to honor Philadelphia native Kevin Hart by designating July 6, 2017, as "Kevin Hart Day" in Philadelphia.

Hundreds of people, including Hart, attended the celebration, which included a mural dedication at Max's Steaks in North Philadelphia.

In 2023, Oh resigned from the city council to run for Mayor of Philadelphia.

Oh's platform is built off a law and order message, stating that political interference and movements to defund the police have made Philadelphia unsafe, citing his own stabbing in 2017.

However, Oh is a supporter of minimal force policing and is opposed to stop and frisk policies.