Update (Aug. 9)
On Friday, officials with the Indianapolis City-County Council released a statement, stating they are committed to making "necessary changes" to the city of Indianapolis' policies and systems to "ensure a safe work environment for all employees, now and into the future."
"Our priority is to create a workplace where every employee feels secure, valued and supported," the statement read. "We are focused on implementing improvements that will bring greater accountability for all leaders, whether elected, appointed, or hired. "
The members of the Indianapolis City-County Council said they have committed to taking the following steps to achieve this, including:
- Create a separate branch of Human Resources from the Administration that explicitly addresses sexual harassment and other discrimination related complaints.
- Create a commission that engages subject matter experts to evaluate the city’s current policies, identify gaps, and implement best practices that will foster a culture of safety, respect, and accountability. This includes but not limited to the use of the Employee Assistance Program.
- Modify Revised Code Section 293-304 to include all city county employees in an annual mandatory sexual harassment training.
Original Story
INDIANAPOLIS — Newly minted Indianapolis City-County Councilor Jesse Brown has called on fellow democrat Joe Hogsett to resign as mayor due to his handling of complaints of sexual harassment lodged against former top aide Thomas Carl Cook.
Brown, elected last November to represent the near eastside, said, "Hogsett circled the wagons," when it came to answering questions about the complaints two women - one a campaign worker, the other a longtime staffer - said they filed directly with him regarding Cook’s harassment behavior, which the disgraced former aide admitted and apologized for.
The City-County Councilor said that when councilors demanded a meeting with Hogsett to answer allegations that for six years he allowed Cook to remain either in the city’s employ or to benefit from city contracts or to work on his most re-election campaign in 2023, they were stiff-armed by, "Hogsett attorneys and a silent, junior staffer who attended the call."
When those allegations were first reported by the IndyStar last month, and further detailed this week by Mirror Indy, Hogsett’s office issued a statement saying Cook was first reprimanded in October of 2017 regarding allegations that went back to 2014, that the mayor told his Chief of Staff to cease his pursuit of coworkers pending termination.
In December 2020, Cook resigned because he violated the 2017 orders and later took a job with a well-connected Indianapolis law firm to become the point man for millions of dollars in city contracts.
Cook later resurfaced in Hogsett’s 2023 re-election campaign where he was again accused of inappropriate conduct with a subordinate.
Last month Cook lost his job and this week Mirror Indy quoted two women on the record who said they were frustrated that their direct complaints to Hogsett did not remove Cook from his orbit and allowed him access to more women who worked to support the mayor.
“Mr. Mayor, do you want to talk about Thomas Cook and the way you handled those complaints?” I asked Hogsett as he arrived for an IMPD Promotions Ceremony at the Indiana War Memorial this morning.
“I think everything has been said.,” answered the mayor.
“Well, no,” I responded, “as a matter of fact, everything hasn’t been said the way you handled those complaints and allowed Thomas Cook to continue in city employment or be connected to your campaign. What would you say to that?”
“Every time a complaint was made, it was turned over to my legal team, it was fully investigated, sanctions were leveled and he no longer works for me,” said Hogsett as he rushed up the steps.
“Did you comply with the sexual harassment ordinance that was adopted in 2019?” I asked.
“Yes, I did,” said Hogsett.
“When’s the last time you underwent sexual harassment training?” I inquired.
At that point, the mayor entered the War Memorial, officiated over the ceremony and left the stage by a backdoor a half-hour later.
In 2019, in the last year of Hogsett’s first term, two years after Cook’s first discipline and during his Chief of Staff’s tenure, the City County Council adopted Ordinance No. 33, which reads that the City, “has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of sexual harassment;” and, “each official, councilor, and all city and county department heads, directors, and supervisors shall attend a two (2) hour interactive sexual harassment awareness and prevention training program…every two (2) years…” and, “The office of corporation counsel shall maintain documentation to demonstrate each official’s, councilor’s and supervisor’s compliance…”
FOX59/CBS4 has submitted an Open Records Act request to the Corporation Counsel for documents related to Hogsett’s completion of that training program.
Marion County republicans today issued a statement that the GOP caucus would, “work with Democrat councilors to introduce a resolution to create an investigating committee at the full council meeting Aug. 12.”
Next Monday night is the council meeting where Hogsett will unveil his 2025 city budget.
According to Section 151-33 of the City Code, such an investigating committee of the council would have subpoena powers to question witnesses, though, whether the mayor would be subject to such a council investigation could potentially be up for debate.
The Council’s Ethics Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Meanwhile, this past Monday, the City’s Office of Finance and Management sent out a letter to all municipal employees advising them that, “Mandatory biennial sexual harassment awareness and prevention training will take place this year. Arrangements for this mandatory training are in progress and will be announced shortly.”
The letter goes on, “It should be noted that Human Resources reports to the Controller. The Controller reports directly to the Mayor. The Corporation Counsel also reports directly to the Mayor.
“Human Resources is currently developing a confidential, online reporting process that will be announced and described in more detail in the coming days.”
In bold lettering, the notice reads, “Any manager or supervisor who is aware of possible harassment or sexually offensive conduct, or who has received a complaint of harassment, should contact the Human Resources Division.
“Corrective action may be taken against the supervisor or manager for failure to comply with this policy.”
In his brief interview today, Hogsett indicated he had complied with the 2019 ordinance but did not respond to a direct question regarding his decision to permit Cook to become involved in his most recent re-election campaign after his departure from City government, involvement that led to his dismissal again in the waning days of last fall’s election.
Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he has been working alongside other councilors to create a process "by which we can determine the precise changes needed to protect our workers."
The full statement can be read below:
"I want to thank Caroline Ellert and Lauren Roberts for the letter they shared with me today outlining their thoughts about the changes necessary to protect City-County employees from all forms of harassment. To both of them, I want to say clearly: you are believed. You have been heard. And you are not alone in seeking change. We must make meaningful changes to the system that failed to protect these women from the appalling and predatory treatment they experienced. From the hours immediately following the Indy Star’s disclosure, I’ve been working with fellow Councilors to establish a process by which we can determine the precise changes needed to protect our workers, provide appropriate redress when harassment does occur and begin rebuilding the trust of our employees and our community. I’m fortunate to serve alongside incredible women Councilors, and they are guiding the Council’s formal actions as we pursue this matter. There will be more to share on our next steps soon."
Vop Osili