David Oh

at-large City Council candidate, Republican

by Brian Hickey

Afew months back, aspiring legislator David Oh stopped by the office to share one of those big ideas he thought would remove the second word from "America's Next Great City." Though he was a few years removed from a failed City Council campaign, he couldn't fathom why people belittled his "24-Hour Philadelphia" proposal, in which a portion of town would be an around-the-clock entertainment district a la SoHo. "People resist the 24-hour area because it conjures up images of night clubs, drunken crowds and fist fights," he explained. "However, a city known for its distinct neighborhoods would benefit so much from an attractive area devoted to creative, innovative and artistic people. These are out-of-the-box thinkers, performers, professionals and entrepreneurs."

Back then, the idea struck me as odd because it was coming from the mouth of a Republican attorney and former assistant district attorney under Ed Rendell who served in the first Gulf War with a reserve Green Beret unit. Yet, as we kicked back at the grand opening of The Penthouse Lounge & Grille, sipping multiple Lagers and trying to converse as several scantily clad workers danced along a nearby runway, I was sold. But convincing me that people should have a place to gig at 4:30 a.m. is one thing; getting the rest of blue-laws Philly aboard is something entirely different. Oh yeah, he'll also have to figure out a way to knock off incumbents Frank Rizzo and Jack Kelly, too, which, even in a city allergic to his political party, won't be easy. (Oh's one of five party-endorsed candidates for the two GOP seats.)

One of those quick-to-laugh family guys, he's easily sidetracked into talking about the joys of soon becoming a father (his wife, Heesun, is expecting); you feel like you've known him for a while even if you haven't.

"I have to show voters that I am not only a person who has the right ideas to address the long-standing issues that have plagued our city," said Oh, who bases his anti-casino stance in large part on the fact that it'll decimate our ability to expand the port operations. "But that I am also a person who is smart enough and tough enough to deal with Philadelphia's entrenched power structure and make our city a better place."