Hogsett denies second councilor's call to resign

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett gives no indication he will seriously consider the call of a second city-county councilor for his resignation over the handling of sexual harassment complaints lodged against a former top aide.




Councilor Andy Nielsen, a Democrat from the east side of Indianapolis, issued an open letter Monday, claiming that Hogsett's decision to let then-Chief of Staff/Deputy Mayor Thomas Cook continue to serve in both administrative and campaign positions despite findings that he repeatedly sexually harassed women in the mayor's office, "demonstrated a profound lack of judgement and disregard for fundamental ethics.




"Mayor Joe Hogsett must resign," the letter reads.




Councilor Jesse Brown, a Democrat though estranged from his council colleagues, had previously called for Hogsett's resignation.




In his first interview since the release of Nielsen's letter, Hogsett told FOX59/CBS4, "When I was making those decisions, I was operating on information that was available at the time. Andy Nielsen's announcement is now being made when everybody knows everything about the situation."




Nielsen's knowledge was informed by the publication of an independent report last week to the council's investigative committee that was empaneled to probe multiple investigations or administrative actions as the result of repeated complaints against Cook by women associated with the mayor's administration or the Democratic Party.




The investigation found that in each case, Hogsett responded within city guidelines by making referrals to appropriate entities.




"I wanted to know everything that was relevant," said Hogsett, "and that is why when complaints came to my attention as the CEO of the city, or as any CEO would do, I turned them over to legal professionals and human resource professionals for a full investigation."




The investigations revealed the women who filed complaints either admitted they were involved in consensual relationships or did not want to be part of a full official review.




Women said they either made Hogsett or one of his subordinates aware of Cook's behavior and the mayor counseled and advised his aide to discontinue the harassment and relationships.




In late 2020, after Hogsett became aware that Cook had violated an earlier admonishment to not continue his behavior, the mayor told his top aide he had sixty days to clear out his office once he completed work on any outstanding city projects.




The report found that such an anticipated departure was within city rules, though Nielsen wants to know what Cook was up to during his last 68 days on the job.




"This period demands further scrutiny from the City-County Council and transparency from the Administration."




In a statement after Nielsen's letter was released, Hogsett said, "I also instructed the Office of Corporation Counsel to review all relevant materials on the range of work Thomas Cook was engaged with during his final months of employment with the city which will be made available to the council in the next few days."




The investigative report also found that, contrary to city ethics rules, Cook went on to represent the Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank less than a year after leaving Hogsett's office.




In 2023, despite his checkered history, Cook was allowed to volunteer in an advisory capacity with Hogsett's successful re-election campaign where a woman said she was harassed again.




Such a complaint, outside of the scope of official city business, was not part of the council's investigation.




"He was not in contact with anyone who was directly involved in the campaign, so it was a fundamentally different situation," said Hogsett




In a letter to the council following the release of the report, Hogsett wrote that his administration cooperated with investigators including "the production of nearly 1,000 pages of documents and participation in more than a dozen hours of interviews," including with the mayor.




"I do specifically recall it was a conversation that took place for five-and-a-half hours," said Hogsett.




The mayor and the council are actively engaged in reviewing and updating the city's sexual harassment reporting and response systems.




Cook has not been charged with a crime and unavailable for comment.





via: https://fox59.com/indianapolitics/hogsett-denies-second-councilors-call-to-resign/