U-Turn: GOP fireworks in Phila. City Council race

After a lackluster summer, the busy fall political season is officially underway, and Philly's At-Large City Council race is suddenly heating up – the GOP portion, that is.

With the fall election of the five Democratic primary winners a foregone conclusion by most pundits, the real race for the two remaining at-large seats will go on between the five Republican candidates --  incumbents David Oh and Dennis O'Brien, along with challengers Al Taubenberger, Dan Tinney and Terry Tracy.

Also running at-large are former-Democrat-turned-Independent Andrew Stober as well as Green Party candidate Kristin Combs. It's unlikely that either will have much of an impact on the race.

As was the case four years ago at this time, widely-acknowledged Republican frontrunner David Oh is the one making the news. Back in August 2011, when he was a challenger, it was over an alleged Green Beret scandal. This time around, it involves a settlement the incumbent first termer just made with the Philadelphia Board of Ethics over an illegal campaign contribution.

When contacted by U-Turn, Oh's texted comment was short and concise: "This matter was resolved. The over-contribution was returned back in April. I cooperated fully and I'm paying the fine."

And while Oh would certainly like the matter to be over, two of his GOP colleagues/opponents won't let it die and are clearly using the incident for political gain.

Terry Tracy, a former close ally and supporter of Oh's, emailed a press release less than 24 hours after the Oh story broke.

Tracy's statement: "Councilman Oh's recent admission of city ethics violations is a disservice to all those who have supported his efforts as a reform candidate in the past. Perhaps more troubling than the actual violation, is his public response. David claims not to know the law and demonstrates no contrition. David placed a donor and constituent at legal risk. His claim and actions are troubling because he is a lawyer. His claim and actions are troubling because he has run three times under this campaign finance regime. While I have no desire to question his integrity or motivations, the citizens of Philadelphia must, at the very least, consider his competency as a lawmaker. I am running for Council because strong and competent leadership from Council's minority party seats is essential to the health of our city's democracy. Through his actions, David has compromised his ability to lead a reform agenda with credibility."

Two days later, Al Taubenberger released the following statement on his Facebook campaign page: "The campaign of Republican City Council nominee Al Taubenberger today harshly criticized incumbent City Councilman David Oh for committing yet another serious ethical violation. Oh recently admitted his guilt in a campaign cash swindle and agreed to pay a hefty fine to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics.

"David Oh has a sordid history of lies and deceit," said Taubenberger campaign spokesman Frank Keel. "He deliberately set out to circumvent the city's campaign finance laws, actually directing unwitting donors in how to cheat the system and funnel illegal campaign contributions to him. Oh is a lawyer, an officer of the court. For him to state that he wasn't aware of campaign finance laws is laughable." Keel went on to reference another ethical lapse that dogged Oh during his last run for City Council. "David Oh is guilty of committing Stolen Valor, claiming to have served in the Green Berets in a vain and cynical effort to buff up his thin resume," Keel continued. "This new campaign finance scam is part of a pattern with this guy. We implore the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Republican City Committee to publicly rebuke Oh for this latest shameful episode. It's the least they should do to preserve their own institutional integrity. Why would anyone continue to support Oh when he's brought nothing but shame and embarrassment to the city."

I contacted both the Tracy and Taubenberger campaigns for further comment.

Among other things, I wanted to know why Tracy was questioning Oh's "competency as a lawmaker" when it appeared that Tracy was breaking the law, himself, by not indicating on his Website, terrytracy.com, the state-required disclosure of whom paid for the Website.

According to the PA Department of State in its campaign finance law FAQ, "The 'disclaimer' notice pertains to all general public, political advertising."

Tracy sent me the following response. "David's recent violations cannot be taken lightly. With his nonchalant responses regarding this serious matter, Oh is saying 'Oh well' to violating campaign finance laws. The voters deserve better than that. Further, thank you for making us aware that the disclaimer was no longer visible on our web site. We took immediate action to restore the appropriate phrasing on our website, as it is on all of our marketing materials."

I then asked the Taubenberger campaign why Taubenberger should not be viewed as a hypocrite for attacking Oh when Taubenberger admitted his guilt in a serious of campaign finance violations in 2011 and agreed to pay a heftier fine to the Board of Ethics than Oh is now paying.

Taubenberger campaign spokesperson Frank Keel swiftly emailed me the following response.

"There is no valid comparison.  In 2011, Al Taubenberger missed a then-new electronic campaign finance reporting deadline. The hard copies were filed in time, but his young campaign treasurer in 2011 was not aware of the need for the additional electronic filing. The filing was late nonetheless and the Taubenberger campaign agreed to pay the $3,000 fine to the Ethics Board.  Al was far from the only candidate to have missed the electronic reporting deadline that year.  The violation that Councilman Oh just admitted to is outrageously unethical, if not borderline criminal.  He told a contributor, in writing, how to evade the city's campaign finance laws and funnel the illegal contribution back to Oh's campaign coffers.  He agreed to pay a $2,000 fine, plus return the $4,600 in excess contribution.  Republican City Committee ought to sternly and publicly rebuke Oh to protect the integrity of the party and the city and state bar associations should consider disbarring Oh as an officer of the court.  Four years ago, Oh lied about being a Green Beret.  Now, he's admitted his guilt in a campaign cash swindle.  What's that say about Oh's integrity and moral compass?  The City of Philadelphia deserves better."

It's worth noting that before Keel responded to my inquiry, he asked me, "Are you a friend/supporter of Mr. Oh's?"

I told him, "I am a friend and support of David Oh. I am also a friend and supporter of Al Taubenberger. As Mr. Taubenberger will tell you, I have attended fundraisers of his in the past and contributed money to him."

And I, like many others, remember when Taubenberger faced off against Oh in 2011, with Oh edging Taubenberger for the 7^th and final spot by only 203 votes citywide – less than a 1% margin.

In a small party in which it's said that friends run against friends, this fall's GOP at-large race promises to be a thriller with plenty of fanfare.

Contact John Featherman at john@featherman.com