DA O’Pake announces run for county judge
SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - Michael O'Pake at a Mahanoy City Borough Council meeting in 2017.
POTTSVILLE – Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O’Pake has thrown his hat into the ring to run for judge.
O’Pake, a Mahanoy City native now living in Norwegian Township, announced his intent to run for a seat on the bench in the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
He is currently serving his second term as District Attorney, having been first elected in 2017. Prior to that, he served as solicitor for the Shenandoah Valley School District, as well as Mahanoy City and Shenandoah boroughs, among other boards.
O’Pake also served as an assistant district attorney from 1992 until 2013, and an assistant public defender from 2014 to 2017.
Upon graduation from law school, O’Pake worked for the Curran Law Office, handling corporate, commercial, and zoning matters. He opened his own law practice in 2000, with offices in Pottsville and Mahanoy City.
“O’Pake is dedicated to public service with a record of being tough on crime,” today’s announcement said. The release said, in O’Pake’s first term in office, he and his drug task force and state and local police, orchestrated the largest drug bust in Schuylkill County history, removing $1 Million in drugs from the streets.
“As District Attorney, I recognize that my ultimate responsibility is the safety of the community and holding criminal defendants responsible for their actions,” O’Pake said in the release. “That responsibility extends to the victims of crimes and their families.”
O’Pake also said he recognizes that education and treatment can be an effective means of preventing crime, convening an “opioid summit” to address the opioid epidemic shortly after taking office as DA. From that summit, Schuylkill REACH (Recovery, Education, Advocacy, and Community Health) was formed.
He also regularly visits local school districts to educate and warn about the dangers of drugs, sexting, cyber-bullying, social media misuse, bomb threats, and distracted driving. He also speaks to senior citizen groups about protecting their identity and identifying scams.
“I make decisions every day that affect the lives of victims and their families,” O’Pake said. “I have the compassion, empathy, knowledge, ability, and temperament to continue to make those decisions as a judge.”
O’Pake serves on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and is also a member of the Pennsylvania and Schuylkill County Bar Associations, the Knights of Columbus, the Pottsville Lions, Frackville Elks, St. Clair Fish and Game, the NRA, and he is a social member of several local fire companies.
Married to Jen Padinske O’Pake, the couple has two children, Michael A. O’Pake Jr., of the Philadelphia area, and Caleigh O’Pake, a junior at the University of Delaware.
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