Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O’Pake caused quite a stir when he switched his party affiliation from Democratic to the GOP.
He had every right to do so, and I can even sympathize with minority-party officials and candidates, whose qualifications seem to matter less than the letter after their names.
Although O’Pake lost the race for Court of Common Pleas judge to GOP Bill Burke in 2023, I still think he was the better candidate. And judges and lawyers polled by the county bar association gave him twice as many “highly recommended” ratings than they did Burke.
So it’s disheartening to see him embrace the party of oligarchy, theocracy and chaos while bashing the one he left with statements reeking of MAGA spin.
His announcement was widely reported, so there’s no sense rehashing it or county Democratic Committee Chair Todd Zimmerman’s detailed and factual rebuttal.
It’s worth mentioning, though, that O’Pake said Democrats don’t respect law enforcement or the rule of law just three days before Kamala Harris presided over the joint congressional session to certify her defeat by convicted felon Donald Trump. That was also the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol – and on the police defending it from the domestic terrorists Trump had incited.
Flipping and flopping
O’Pake is far from the only politician to change parties while in office.
Arlen Specter, for example, spent nearly three decades as a GOP senator from Pennsylvania before registering as a Democrat in 2009. He ran for a sixth term in 2010 but lost the primary by nearly 8 points.
On the other hand, Tricia Cotham did OK when she defected to the GOP in April 2023, just five months after winning a seat in the North Carolina state House as a pro-choice Democrat.
Her new party got a veto-proof majority that rammed through abortion restrictions and siphoned more taxpayer money to private schools. Meanwhile, her blue district was redrawn to give the GOP an edge, allowing her to narrowly win another term in the last election.
Sen. John Fetterman drew a crowd in Pottsville last fall, when he was traversing the state to campaign for Harris. He’s still a Democrat, but many of his supporters are shaking their heads as he warms up to Trump and plans to meet with him at Mar-a-Lago.
“I’m not rooting against him,” Fetterman said last month on ABC’s “This Week.” “If you’re rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation.”
Actually, if you root against Trump, you’re rooting to save our nation from the cruel, repressive and undemocratic policies he and his billionaire pals plan to inflict on us.
Since Trump clinched the White House, he’s also done some 180-degree turns that by rights should lead to serious voters’ remorse among the 49.8% of those who elected him.
From claiming to be a super-mediator who’ll end wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, he’s now toying with starting some of his own in Greenland and Panama.
And he’s walked back his signature campaign promise to lower grocery prices.
Nonpartisanship
Back to O’Pake: While I’m disappointed to lose him to the GOP, I’m glad he left before this year’s municipal election.
Whether he runs to stay in his current job or tries for a vacant seat on the county bench, he and any rivals are allowed to appear on both parties’ primary ballots because those races are considered nonpartisan.
But given the vast differences between Democrats and the GOP, a candidate’s affiliation tells voters a lot.
During his judicial campaign, O’Pake said he never lets his politics influence the actions he takes as D.A., and he stressed that he’d be fair and impartial as a judge.
And in announcing his move to the GOP, he pledged that it wouldn’t change the bipartisan makeup of his office or affect staffing, charging decisions, case resolution and his dealings with law enforcement.
“I stand firm behind my record of serving the people, not politics,” he said.
That’s commendable, but it’s too bad that he felt the need to fire unfounded partisan insults at his longtime party.
Canary note: Opinions expressed in any Op-Ed column appearing on this site are the views of the writer and are not necessarily the opinions of Coal Region Canary.
Coal Region Canary will always be an open forum for opinions from all sides. Want to be a columnist with Coal Region Canary? Contact us at newscanary@gmail.com.
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