GOP ward leaders reject Rizzo, endorse David Oh

Republican ward leaders followed predictions Tuesday and did not endorse Frank Rizzo for City Council, even though he has held a seat for nearly 16 years.

In a surprise, the ward leaders endorsed former Council candidate David Oh, despite Oh's not receiving the recommendation from a GOP selection committee. He won the ward leader vote, however.

Rizzo said he was unfazed by getting only 16 votes - the top vote-getter for a Council seat, former mayoral candidate Al Taubenberger, got 38. Rizzo said that even as ward leaders were not endorsing him, people were texting him from the meeting, asking him to run for mayor (which he won't do).

"I'm going to win the Republican primary and the general election," said Rizzo, who has a strong base of support and, as son of the former mayor, one of the most recognized names in city politics. Rizzo was criticized for participating in the city's controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP).

Besides Taubenberger and Oh for Council's at-large seats, the ward leaders voted for former U.S. Justice Department lawyer John Giordano; Malcolm Lazin, a lawyer and executive director of the Equality Forum, a series of events promoting civil rights for gay people; and Joseph McColgan, who lost to former U.S. Rep. Bob Borski in 1990 and 1996.