Tag: Kenneth Talkington

As many are already aware, last December, Washington County supervisor Kenneth Talkington (D - Hebron) was involved in a domestic dispute, where he allegedly threatened and beat his wife while intoxicated.

Here's an excerpt from yesterday's Post Star, where District Attorney Kate Hogan from neighboring Warren County questions Talkington's academic credentials:

"The defendant has neither a college degree or an MBA," Hogan wrote in a pre-trial motion filed in Granville Town Court. "In fact, the only degree the defendant does hold is a general equivalency degree."

"Ken Talkington has repeatedly told The Post-Star he has an MBA through the University of North Carolina's extension program, and that he received the degree while he was at a military base in Washington County. He has said he was a U.S. Army Ranger before he moved to Washington County."

"He said after Wednesday's court appearance that he will provide documation of the MBA"

By no means were Talkington's actions towards his wife appropriate, but so far Hogan's accusations of Talkington's academic credentials appear to be nothing but a partisan hatchet job, especially now that Talkington has agreed to provide full documentation of his MBA.

If what Hogan is saying does indeed turn out to be false (as it likely will), it will obviously leave big questions regarding Hogan's credibility as a district attorney, and whether Hogan has conducted her duties in a non-biased, unpartisan manner throughout the many years she has served the North Country.

In addition, it also appears that the Talkington story has been overplayed quite a bit (perhaps conveniently) in all the local media recently (How many times do we have to read about Talkington in The Post-Star?) - All in all, this overdramatization is likely because ever since Supervisor Gordon Aubrey (D - Argyle) resigned last year, Kenneth Talkington is now the only Democrat left serving on the 20-member Washington County Board of Supervisors. It appears quite likely that the local GOP machine is now using this story simply as a wedge to try to help gain total, 100% control over the Washington County government this November, especially since Talkington's term is up this cycle. (I guess 95% control just isn't good enough for them!)