INDIANAPOLIS -- In light of sexual misconduct allegations surrounding State Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis), the Indiana Democratic Party voted this week to pass a new code of conduct all party members must follow.
State Sen. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend) and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's former chief deputy mayor Thomas Cook have also been embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct.
”When I was a young political staffer, I think it would have been helpful for many of us to have these types of options available to us," Lara Beck, owner of Beck Communications, said. ”I think it’s a very important first step."
INDEMS said the code pertains to “incidents of bias, discrimination, and harassment.”Those who violate the code could face disciplinary action ranging from “a written warning” to a ban.
”Some people will feel it doesn’t go far enough, some people will feel it’s too far; you can have reasonable disagreement about the details of it but I think at the end of the day, it’s incredibly important to have something like this in place," Beck said.
In a statement, INDEMS Chairman Mike Schmuhl said in part:
“The Indiana Democratic Party is committed to fostering a safe and vibrant environment for all affiliates of our party. Establishing a Code of Conduct ensures all complaints brought to the party are treated fairly and equally...”
The party also voted to form an internal ethics committee to investigate alleged misconduct. However, it’s unclear who exactly would be on the committee and who would be leading it.
”If you want to rebuild trust and credibility, then you bring in people from the outside," former Indiana State Rep. Michael Murphy said. ”The Republican Party, frankly, should do the same thing.”
This comes weeks after the Indiana Senate tweaked its sexual harassment policy to include apprentices and pages.
”I think we have a pretty strong process right now, but we’re always willing to try to improve that," Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray (R-Martinsville) said during an interview last month.
In an interview last month, the Indiana Senate Majority Leader said he had hesitations about adding HR to the Senate Ethics Committee process, but didn’t rule it out entirely. He also did not clarify how many complaints the Senate Republican Caucus has had in the last decade.
”Unfortunately, I’m not really at liberty to talk about employment or personnel challenges like that, for the reason that, you know, those employees have a right to privacy and we need to try to respect that," State Sen. Bray said.
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to INDEMS for additional information about its code of conduct and new ethics committee. The group declined to comment for this story.