David Oh, the only Republican primary candidate and presumptive Republican mayoral nominee, previously served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council from the city's at-large district.
Oh writes on his campaign website that he plans to address public safety through regular patrolling, equipping law enforcement with updated technology, and taking a public service approach to peacekeeping through “community-oriented policing.”
Penn College Republicans recently endorsed Oh as a candidate in the mayoral race — though College first-year and College Republicans Political Director Peter Kapp said that with Democratic voters significantly outweighing Republicans, the endorsement “doesn’t really matter.”
In January 2022, Oh spearheaded a bipartisan letter signed by 16 out of 17 City Council members asking Penn administrators to review the role of Amy Wax — whose anti-Asian comments sparked national scrutiny — within the University.
“What we're calling into question is the University of Pennsylvania and how it sees its role in providing Professor Wax this prestigious platform, which seems to be the only reason why she is being encouraged and allowed to make statements far outside of her area of expertise,” Oh previously told The Daily Pennsylvanian.
In addressing Philadelphia's public education system, Oh is seeking to create more space for parental voices in school board selection, increase transparency regarding learning outcomes, and take advantage of unused funding to “improve infrastructure and conduct remedial activities,” according to his website.
Oh told WHYY in February that his campaign’s main focuses include addressing crime, investing in public schools, and increasing transparency for taxpayers.
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