Colorado Springs City Council candidate accused of plagiarism, misrepresenting degree
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A city council candidate is accused of misrepresenting her educational background and plagiarising a candidate survey.
Michelle Talarico is running for the District 3 vacancy. That district covers the southwest portion of the city, including Old Colorado City and the Broadmoor area.
Multiple Colorado publications have said she earned a bachelor’s degree from the private liberal arts college. However, Integrity Matters, a nonprofit political action group has obtained a report from National Student Clearinghouse, which shows Talarico attended Colorado College from 1982 to 1984, but never received a bachelor's degree.
Talarico’s LinkedIn account lists a bachelor's degree from Colorado College in the education section. The non-profit National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where Talarico serves as a board member, also states Talarico is a Colorado College graduate on its website.
KRDO reached out to NAMI about the claim. A spokesperson for the organization said due to other outlets referring to her as an alumna of Colorado College, they assumed she graduated from there. That term means a person attended the school - but doesn’t necessarily mean they earned a degree.
She’s also accused of plagiarizing an answer in a candidate survey. Talarico admitted to taking the content from someone else but denied that it was plagiarism.
These allegations against Talarico come less than a week before the Colorado Springs General Municipal Election. Additionally, Talarico is accused of plagiarizing an answer on a candidate survey she filled out.
Wednesday afternoon, 13 Investigates sat down with Talarico about the allegations and whether or not she knew about the misrepresentation of her education.
