Ann Targonski has announced her intention to seek the position of district attorney for Northumberland County in the 2015 election.
Targonski has held the position since July 2014. She first became an assistant district attorney in 1990 under then District Attorney Robert B. Sacavage and was later appointed to the position of first assistant district attorney under District Attorney Tony Rosini.
During her tenure as first assistant, she served as prosecutor for domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault cases. She is a member of multi-disciplinary investigative teams of Northumberland County for both child and older adult victims. She has been educated in specialized interviewing techniques for child victims and also has trained at the National District Attorney Center in sexual assault prosecutions.
Targonski graduated from Marywood University in Scranton and the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. At school, she served on the prison and domestic relations law projects as well as being a member of the Corpus Juris Society.
Upon graduation, she became an associate in the law offices of Jack C. Younkin and later started her own practice. In 2007, she joined a practice with Frank E. Garrigan. She is a former president of the Shamokin Rotary Club and has also served as president of the Shamokin Area Visiting Nurses Association and the Shamokin Area Democratic Women. She served as both a committee person and as solicitor for the Democratic Party of Northumberland County.
Early in her practice, she served as an assistant public defender and later was appointed by the court to serve as the first custody master for Northumberland County. She also served as solicitor for Shamokin Community Development Block Grant Program, Shamokin Zoning Board, Coal Township Commissioners and the Northumberland County Area Agency on Aging. She is currently the vice president of the Northumberland County Bar Association and is slotted to serve as president for the year 2015-16.
She is the wife of Edward O'Donnell and the mother of four daughters, Amber, Erin and Elen O'Donnell and Maureen Schoch, and the grandmother of Alexandra Helen. She is an active member of Mother Cabrini Parish, Shamokin.