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.
[5] 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.
[6] In 2003 and 2007, Oh ran unsuccessful campaigns to win one of the two minority party at-large seats for the Philadelphia City Council.
[13][14] In 2015, Oh helped raise money for a statue commemorating William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, a World War II veteran.
[26] 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.
[28] Oh stated that his main priorities if elected mayor where to "make Philadelphia safe, create good jobs and provide quality schools in every neighborhood.
Parker did not campaign for almost a month after winning the crowded Democratic primary, citing complications to an earlier root canal treatment.
[26] After recovering, Parker has refused to debate Oh, claiming that the 7 to 1 voter registration advantage the Democrats had made any effort to interact with Oh a waste of campaign resources.
Jennifer Stefano of The Philadelphia Inquirer called Parker's move to cut out Oh "Trumpesque" and "a danger to our democracy.
[31] Oh and Parker saw the stage for the first time at a joint interview at the Please Touch Museum where the pair took questions from a gallery of children from various elementary schools in Philadelphia.
[32] Shortly afterwards Parker backtracked and agreed to face off against Oh at a single debate on October 26 on KYW's Philadelphia’s Morning News.
[35] Oh's mayoral campaign has been haunted by his lingering Green Beret controversy, with Oh stating during an interview during the race that "I did serve in the Special Forces.
Although this was the best Republican showing since the 2003 Philadelphia mayoral election, Oh's performance fell well below expectations he set out at the start of his campaign.