County Dems on DA flip: ‘very disappointed, but not surprised’
SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - Michael O'Pake at a Mahanoy City Borough Council meeting in 2017.
POTTSVILLE – A day after Schuylkill County’s district attorney announced he would be flipping party affiliation, his former party says they’re “very disappointed, but not surprised.”
Mike O’Pake, a longtime Democrat, announced Friday he would be changing party affiliations to Republican, citing conflicts between the national Democratic party’s values and his own.
Saturday, the Schuylkill County Democratic Committee released a statement, rebutting O’Pake’s claims.
The Schuylkill County Democratic Committee is very disappointed, but not surprised that DA Mike O’Pake has changed parties,” Todd Zimmerman, chairman of the Democratic committee, said in a statement provided to the Sentinel. “The Republican Chamber of Commerce’s wealthy donating circle tried to seduce O’Pake to change parties four years ago. O’Pake assured the committee that he was a committed Democrat and eventually ran unopposed.”
Zimmerman said the Democrats are not for defunding the police, that instead President-elect Donald Trump’s ally and pick to lead the FBI plans to defund the organization.
“We all want a secure border. However, only Congress has the power to fix immigration,” Zimmerman said. “Conservative Senator James Lanford of Oklahoma was instrumental in creating a bipartisan bill early in 2024, but Trump pressured the House of Representatives to kill the deal. We all agree that criminals should be deported, and they have been.”
“While O’Pake might be welcomed by the Republican donor elite, the MAGA base does not tolerate political chameleons,” Zimmerman said. “I expect they will primary him for the May 20 election. And after what he said about Democrats, he is unlikely to get much, if any, support from us.”
The announcement comes on the heels of an election year for the county row office.
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