Talonya Adams /Howard Fischer
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
The state Senate staffer who says discrimination led to her firing by Katie Hobbs in 2015 is taking the first step toward suing her.
Talonya Adams said Thursday she will file a formal notice of claim on Friday that HByobbs, through her statements and implications, has deliberately given people the impression Adams is incompetent. Hobbs was Senate minority leader when Adams was fired. Hobbs is now secretary of state and is running for governor in the 2022 Democratic primary.
Adams held a press conference Thursday on the patio of the federal courthouse, where a jury last month awarded her $2.75 million in damages in her previous lawsuit against the Senate, in which Hobbs was not named as a defendant. The jury found Adams, who is Black, was subject to racial and gender discrimination, as well as retaliation for complaining about her salary being less than white male staffers with similar backgrounds.
That reward, as required by federal law, was reduced to a maximum of $300,000. Now Adams hopes to get a separate jury, this time in state court, to conclude statements Hobbs has made were knowingly false.
She said Hobbs continues to assert she was fired for legitimate reasons.
Adams also took the opportunity to argue that Hobbs is unfit to be governor. She also contended that, using a dictionary definition, Hobbs is racist.
Hobbs declined to comment.
