Indianapolis City-County Council Republicans announce leadership change

INDIANAPOLIS - Republicans on the Indianapolis City-County Council have announced a new leadership change.




A spokesperson confirmed that Brian Mowery is now the council's minority leader. The change was made during a caucus Republicans held before Monday's full council meeting.




Mowery, who has been on the council since 2016, takes over for Michael-Paul Hart, who has been a council member since 2019. Mowery represents council district 25, which includes Franklin Township. Hart represents council district 20, which covers certain parts of the southern and eastern portions of Indianapolis.




FOX59/CBS4 is working to confirm exactly what led council Republicans to appoint a new minority leader. Democrats currently outnumber Republicans, 19-6, on the council.




While they do possess a majority on the council, Democrats have not been without leadership questions in recent weeks. Last month, councilor Jesse Brown introduced a motion to remove Vop Osili and Ali Brown from their positions as President and Vice President of the council.




The motion failed to gain enough traction to move forward, and Ali Brown and Osili remain in their current roles.




Jesse Brown wasn't the only council Democrat to call for Osili and Ali Brown's resignations. Crista Carlino also called for Osili and Ali Brown's jobs.




Carlino and Jesse Brown are no longer members of the council's Democratic caucus. Jesse Brown said he was expelled from the caucus in February. Carlino left the caucus last month.




The questions surrounding Osili and Ali Brown's leadership pertains to the council's handling of a sexual harassment scandal that has plagued Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's office in recent months.




The scandal pertains to inappropriate behavior Thomas Cook - one of Hogsett's former top aides - reportedly displayed between 2017-23. The council created an investigative committee to look into Hogsett's handling of the Cook's behavior.




The council tasked Chicago-based law firm Fisher Phillips with leading the investigation. The firm found that Hogsett acted within legal bounds in his handling of Cook.




Despite the firm's findings, questions remain about Hogsett. After Fisher Phillips released its report, Lauren Roberts and Caroline Ellert - both of whom previously worked for Hogsett - indicated that the firm's report didn't tell the whole story.




Inappropriate text messages the mayor allegedly sent the women surfaced after Fisher Phillips released its report. Those messages were not included in the report.




The alleged omission of key details led Carlino to suggest an architect was pulling strings behind the scenes to protect Hogsett. Those claims have not been verified.




Carlino also criticized Osili for his handling of a June council meeting. During that meeting, Roberts attempted to speak her mind about sexual harassment in the mayor's office. Roberts exceeded her allotted time to speak, and law enforcement subsequently removed her from the council chambers.




Osili later apologized for the council's handling of situation.




In an interview with FOX59/CBS4, Hogsett indicated that he has no intention to resign from his position. Multiple councilors have, however, called for Hogsett to do just that.




The next meeting of the full council is scheduled for Sept. 8.





via: https://fox59.com/news/politics/indianapolis-city-county-council-republicans-announce-leadership-change/