The two Republican candidates for Schuylkill County District Attorney faced one another in a debate Friday night, just days before thousands of voters head to the polls in the 2025 Municipal Primary Election.
Incumbent Mike O’Pake says he’s the right person for the job because he’s got far more experience as a prosecutor than his opponent.
“This is a real simple race. It comes down to reliability and credibility,” O’Pake told about 25 people inside American Hose Co. No. 2’s social hall in Mount Carbon.
The crowd on hand was mostly Schuylkill County Republican Party Committee members, several staffers at the DA’s office, and some members of the general public.
O’Pake’s opponent in the Tuesday Primary is John Urbanski, of Pottsville, who continually touted himself ahead of and during Friday’s debate as the only true Republican in the race.
In his opening statement, he pushed back on O’Pake’s experience as District Attorney by saying, “He believes his experience equates to safer streets. We need someone that will actually fight for the people of Schuylkill County.”
Urbanski further attacked O’Pake by saying, “Criminals don’t respect him. What has he done to solve the root problem of crime? Mike’s going to sit there and keep shuffling them through.”
The incumbent struck back at Urbanski’s claim that he’s soft on crime, saying, “Anyone that tells you they’re going to stop crime, they’re lying.”
During the debate, O’Pake touted what he feels are his biggest accomplishments while in office, which he first won in 2017. Included in those are being part of the largest drug bust in Schuylkill County history, taking $600,000 in cash from drug dealers and using that money to fund the county’s Drug Task Force, which prosecuted more drug offenders.
Urbanski said he wanted to use the money seized from prosecuted drug dealers to help regionalize police in Schuylkill County.
However, O’Pake told him, “That’s illegal.”
O’Pake also highlighted how his office is running more efficiently, saying it takes an average of 6-7 months to bring a case to trial.
Credibility with the Court
During and after the debate, O’Pake spoke about his credibility with the courts versus his opponent’s. He referenced during the debate Urbanski recently being found in contempt regarding his actions in a custody case.
In that case, Schuylkill County Judge Chris Hobbs urged Urbanski to find a mentor in the legal profession.
“That is enough to make him unqualified for the position,” O’Pake said.
During the debate, when this subject was mentioned, Urbanski accused O’Pake of politicizing the courts for his political gain. He said it’s “very repulsive for an active attorney to politicize the courts.”
The Party Switch
Outside of the experience factor, the topic that came up most often during Friday’s debate was O’Pake’s switch to the Republican Party in January.
Urbanski has been hitting at the District Attorney since he announced his candidacy and it didn’t stop during and after the debate. He says O’Pake switched parties this year as an attempt to “save his job.”
O’Pake told those in attendance that Democrat policies were making his job as District Attorney increasingly difficult and that they didn’t align with his personal beliefs.
“It was beyond anything I could take any more,” O’Pake said.
He said he grew up like many did in Schuylkill County as a JFK Democrat.
“I knew there would be criticisms. I knew there would be repercussions,” O’Pake said. “I’m a newly minted Republican and Mr. Urbanski has a problem with that. Trump was a Democrat. You gave him a chance.”
Urbanski countered, saying that the “Defund the Police” movement was in 2020 and that didn’t cause the incumbent to switch. After the debate, he said O’Pake only switched to “keep his job.”
“This is too convenient. This is somebody who is trying to hold on to their office,” he added. “To me, the party perspective is important because that’s where part of your philosophy as a prosecutor is coming from. That’s why that bothers me. He’s trying to pretend and portray a philosophy that he has not embraced, that he has actually fought against for decades.”
O’Pake said during the debate, “I have voted for more Republicans in Schuylkill County than he has. What has he done for Schuylkill County Republicans or Schuylkill County in general. Nothing. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”
Afterward, he said his party affiliation really shouldn’t matter as much as his opponent would like it to matter to voters.
“The District Attorney’s Office is the least political office in the courts. I represent Democrats and Republicans as victims. It doesn’t matter to me,” O’Pake said. “Whether I’m a Democrat or a Republican, it’s the job that you do. What matters is, can you do the job and can you do the job well.”
Clear Path to the DA’s Office
Whoever wins Tuesday will essentially have a clear path to the District Attorney’s Office for the next four years. There are no Democrat candidates on the ballot this year.
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