PHOENIX — Talonya Adams called for Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to resign from office and drop out of the state's governor race at a press conference on Thursday.
Adams, who won a multimillion-dollar jury award for racial and sex discrimination by the Arizona State Senate that she blamed Hobbs for, held a press conference responding to an apology Hobbs tweeted on Wednesday.
Hobbs released a three-minute video expressing remorse, committing to be an advocate for victims of discrimination and vowing to take steps to prevent discrimination if she’s elected governor.
"Are we going to continue to allow individuals that engage in and deal with abuse of power and racism to lead this state?" Adams said. "Whether it is Kari Lake or Katie Hobbs, I would hope that Arizonans would uniformly say 'no.'"
Adams said she was fired based entirely on a decision made by Hobbs and said the apology was Hobbs trying to get over a political hurdle. Adams also said she hasn't had a conversation with Hobbs since 2015.
“Her statement is not an apology. It's designed to help her get over a political hurdle,” Adams said. “Her response is a response to a political crisis. It’s not a response to racism.”
SEE HOBBS'S FULL APOLOGY VIDEO HERE: Katie Hobbs issues apology for 2015 firing of African-American senate staffer
"Is Katie Hobbs a racist as defined by the Oxford dictionary? Yes, she is," Adams said after reading the definition of racist in a dictionary. "Is she worthy of sitting in any role of government? No, she is not."
Adams has previously said that she thinks Hobbs has "always been very uncomfortable with minorities" and "wholly disconnected from people of color."
According to court documents, the jury awarded Adams $2 million in compensation for damages suffered because of the retaliatory firing. She was awarded $750,000 for the discrimination itself.
“Discrimination hurts. It is painful,” Adams said. “It doesn't matter whether it's asserted by an individual whether a Republican or a Democrat. It makes a difference when it is asserted by someone that has extraordinary power."
Adams filed her civil rights lawsuit against the Arizona Senate. No individual staffers or senators were named as defendants, so the jury and judge didn't assign culpability to any of Adams' supervisors.
Sunday Square Off
Get the latest Arizona political news on our 12 News Sunday Square Off YouTube playlist here.