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
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