(Editor’s Note: This is the third story in a four-part series interviewing four candidates who have announced intentions to run for St. Tammany Coroner.)
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – Each of the candidates who have announced plans to run for St. Tammany coroner have touted a wealth of experience in different fields.
But Dr. Adrian Talbot believes he can top the others.
“I’m the only candidate who is not only a doctor, but also a lawyer,” he said.
Talbot is medical director and physician for Medical Care Center in Slidell—offering credentials as a doctor along with the three other candidates in the race—Dr. Robert Muller, Dr. Leanne Truehart and the newest announced candidate, Dr. Charles Preston of Slidell.
But Talbot followed his M.D. at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., and later earned his Juris Doctorate of Law degree from Loyola Law School in New Orleans. That was following a decorated 20-year career in the U.S. Navy that began when he enlisted, and retired as a lieutenant commander.
“This election is about providing leadership to the Coroner’s Office, something that is a high priority right now due to the past year’s events,” Talbot said. “We need leadership with vision and I know I have those qualifications.”
Qualifying for the election will conclude this Friday, Feb. 14, with the primary election set for April 5.
Talbot, like the others, has never run for public office, but said the negative publicity for the Coroner’s Office in the past year—which led to the conviction of Coroner Dr. Peter Galvan—led him to believe he was the person to take over the department.
“Why did I decide to run? I have a history in the community of serving and after seeing the problems in the department, and being approached by various highly-respected leaders in the community, I knew I had the qualifications, leadership and skill set the office needed,” he said. “I’m motivated by a desire to help others and that’s the reason I decided to run.”
For all of the physicians who have announced for the position, the recently set salary of $84,000 a year to be coroner is undoubtedly much below what they make in their private practice. While it is still legal for a doctor to continue a private practice and serve as coroner, that was one of the issues with Galvan when he was criticized for reportedly working close to full-time at his private practice while serving as coroner.
“I have nurse practitioners and others to help operate my private practice,” Talbot said. “I will dedicate all the time it requires to do this job properly. Being coroner is much like being a doctor. It’s not an 8 to 5 job, it’s full-time, and I will give it that responsibility.”
Talbot said he sees two key areas of priority above the rest for whoever takes over the Coroner’s Office. First, the millage passed in 2004 to construct the new Coroner’s Office in Lacombe is far too high and should be reduced, and possibly eliminated with the right management in the DNA lab, he said.
“That facility has tremendous potential, but only with the proper leadership. We all know taxes in the parish are extremely high, but that is one millage that could be eliminated. The office should be self-sustaining, and even provide revenue back to the parish,” he said.
Talbot said the state-of-the-art DNA lab and crime lab that Galvan built in Lacombe should be getting high use from other agencies in the region.
“We have agencies in this state and other states that send samples far away, with long waits, to get evaluated,” he explained. “We could do so much better and if we market the agency properly, we could be doing the work for hundreds of other agencies. The revenue could eliminate the millage there entirely.”
The second issue is simply one of leadership to restore the public trust in the Coroner’s Office after a year of negative media stories following Galvan’s actions, which led to his recent guilty plea for conspiracy and spending public money for personal use.
Talbot has served on many public boards, including the Slidell Housing Authority, where he was part of a new board to improve many problems there, as well as serving with the Christian Missions Immunization program, substance abuse prevention and recovery programs, veteran’s groups and working with churches where he provides free medical treatment.
“The work I did with the Slidell Housing Authority is similar to what needs to be done with the Coroner’s Office. There was mismanagement of funds, but we have cleaned that up,” he said. “Otherwise, the new coroner can do a lot to support many church groups and other organizations trying to improve the suicide rate in our parish. I will be active with those groups.
“Our coroner needs to be more engaged in the community, something I’ve always done with other work here,” Talbot said.
The Slidell physician said he is going door-to-door throughout the parish to introduce himself.
“Having both a medical and a law degree, I am uniquely positioned to serve the parish as coroner,” he said. “All the other candidates are fine physicians and I respect them all, but as a military veteran with firm Christian values serving this country, I believe I am the best candidate for this position.”
Talbot is married with five children.
(Next Week: The fourth candidate announced to run for coroner, Dr. Charles Preston.)