Pablo O'Hana, now 32, was bullied so severely at secondary school in Manchester that he left with barely any GCSEs. Yet he went on to become a political advisor who worked on Kamala Harris's 2024 US presidential campaign and Joe Biden's election effort, all without a university degree.
Early life and bullying
O'Hana says he was 'all right' in primary school, but 'secondary school was where everything went off the rails'. In his first week, a group of boys from his school beat him at a bus stop so badly he ended up in hospital. He says the attack, which his assailants made clear, was because of his sexuality.
The bullying continued for five years, including being kicked down stairs. He later befriended a group of girls and found a sympathetic teacher who helped him pursue interests in technical theatre and poster design. Despite this, he left school with few qualifications, having flunked both GCSEs and A-Levels.
Career in politics
In his spare time, O'Hana ran a fan site for Billie Piper, who later invited him to London to work on her social media as she transitioned from music to acting. He described the job as opening 'a million doors'. He then moved to Belfast for a PR job at the Titanic exhibition, but returned to Manchester for a social media role helping Liberal Democrat MP John Leech get re-elected to the Council in 2016.
During his time with the Liberal Democrats, O'Hana witnessed party leader Tim Farron's passion for resolving the Syrian refugee crisis. He said, 'That was when I began to see the difference that a national politician could make.' This spurred him to work on local, national, and European elections, and later on the successful campaign to legalise abortion in Ireland in 2018.
US politics and a memorable moment
O'Hana's passion for women's rights led him to US politics. He volunteered to help elect Letitia James, the first black woman elected stateside in New York, before being recruited as an advisor to help Joe Biden and later Kamala Harris's 2024 bid. The Harris campaign was ultimately unsuccessful.
Before the election, O'Hana recalled a moment driving on a motorway when he was 'fairly convinced that we were in trouble'. A car pulled up alongside him, and he saw a black mother and her daughter holding a cardboard sign reading 'Kamala' in three colours. He said, 'My heart shattered, because I was fairly sure we were going to lose... I turned and I waved, and kind of stretched this fake smile on my face.'
Return to the UK
O'Hana has since returned to Manchester, where he runs his own PR agency, Apostrophe Campaigns. He says he feels more optimistic and even patriotic about the UK, and hopes Andy Burnham, now Prime Minister, will overhaul the education system that he feels failed him. He said, 'We need to embrace what kids are passionate about.'
John Leech, MP for Didsbury West, told the M.E.N. that O'Hana was integral to his 2016 re-election, managing his social media. Leech said, 'At a time where politicians are often seen as out of touch with reality, he managed to make me seem fairly human. I am not at all surprised that he has gone on to bigger and better things, because he is the best at what he does.'
