Following the one man , one vote decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court , the wards of Philadelphia were redistricted , and the 49th Ward was split in half . Cohen was elected Democratic leader of the 17th Ward in 1966 , and was continuously reelected henceforth . In 2002 , he became the most senior Democratic ward leader in the City of Philadelphia , and he continued to serve as the 17th Ward Democratic leader until his death . City Council redistricting left Northwest Philadelphia without an incumbent councilman , and Cohen was elected to that position in 1967 , quintupling the November victory margin of the previous incumbent . Sworn in as a member of City Council in 1968 , Cohen became a leader of the independent factions of the City Council , and worked to focus the City Council on previously slighted problems dealing with zoning , public health care , air pollution , governmental ethics , delivery of city services , and race relations . Elected a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention , Cohen supported the Presidential campaigns of Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy , and frequently spoke at rallies opposing the War in Vietnam
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
David Cohen (politician)