By Stacey Barchenger | Arizona Republic
Democratic candidate for governor Katie Hobbs has issued an apology and acknowledged discrimination took place in the firing of a Senate staffer years ago as her campaign faces continued criticism for how it responded to the situation.
“Over the past several weeks, I’ve heard from many of you about my response to the discrimination that Talonya Adams faced as an employee in the Legislature,” said Hobbs, the current secretary of state, in a video posted to her campaign Twitter account Wednesday morning. “I understand that my response fell short of taking real accountability.
“Please allow me to say this clearly and unequivocally: I apologize to Ms. Adams. I’m truly sorry for the real harm that I caused Ms. Adams and her family. My response to the jury verdict was short-sighted, unnecessarily defensive and failed to meet the moment.”
Adams, 45, was fired from her job as a Democratic Senate aide in 2015, when Hobbs was the Senate Democratic leader. Adams filed a discrimination lawsuit, winning jury verdicts that found she was discriminated against on the job and was retaliated against when she was fired.
