Secretary of State Katie Hobbs feels heat after fumbling discrimination case

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs issued a ‘new’ apology and acknowledged discrimination took place at the legislature related to then Democractic Senate Aide, Talonya Adams. Hobbs, who in 2015 was the Senate Democratic leader, said in an interview with The Arizona Republic that she recognized that her initial response fell short of taking accountability and that it was unnecessarily defensive.

Adams said she was discriminated against on the basis of race and sex – that when she repeatedly raised questions about her pay and working conditions with supervisors, she was fired – a maneuver she argued was retaliation for questioning the process.

Adams, who is African American, filed a discrimination lawsuit contending she was unfairly being paid less than white, male colleagues. A motion filed by then Senate lawyer Michael Moberly said Adams ‘simply expressed a desire to discuss a potential raise because her workload had increased, and she had not received a raise during the time she had been employed at the Senate.’

As it turned out, the legislative policy adviser affirmed Adams did earn less than many white, male colleagues.

A federal jury last month awarded Adams $2.75 million, ruling she ‘was’ fired for questioning the pay gap. Because of laws capping damages, she will actually receive no more than $300,000.

Hobbs released a three-minute apology video via Twitter earlier this month – a mea culpa that included everything from Talonya Adams to her lack of accountability to her limited experience with racism. But was this apology sincere or a part of a larger strategy to help her become the next governor of Arizona?

In this week's Gaggle episode, national politics reporter Ron Hansen examines this question and more of the fallout between Secretary Hobbs and Adams with Stacey Barchenger, the Republic’s state politics reporter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices