INDIANAPOLIS — UPDATE: On Tuesday, Sept. 10 the council named seven councilors to the investigative committee:
- Crista Carlino
- Jessica McCormick
- Kristin Jones
- Rena Allen
- Andy Nielsen
- Josh Bain
- Brian Mowery
Monday night, the City-County Council voted to create a committee to investigate how Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration handled sexual harassment complaints.
It follows allegations against the mayor’s former top aide, Thomas Cook. He’s accused of sexually harassing at least two women who worked for the city and campaign.
Recent reports also detail wider allegations of a toxic work environment and a culture of sexual harassment within city hall.
“I think it’s important that we take a deep dive into what’s taken place in the last few years,” said Council Majority Leader Maggie Lewis.
Councilors Ali Brown, Jessica McCormick and Crista Carlino sponsored the proposal.
“This isn’t just about one person. This is about flaws and errors in the system and how we got to this point and what changes we can make to go forward,” McCormick said.
The committee also comes with bipartisan support.
"My goal is to see what happened, why it happened and how long it was known that it was going on and to be able to hold these bad actors accountable no matter which office they were in,” said Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery.
The only councilor to vote against the proposal was Councilor Ron Gibson.
When asked why, Gibson said, "To give the mayor the chance to make this thing right. I believe that a former U.S. attorney knows what to do here and he's already started the process of making things right."
The committee will be made up of seven council members — five Democrats and two Republicans. The City-County Council president and the Democratic and Republican leaders on council will make that decision Tuesday night.
In the coming months, the committee will review the city’s HR policies to see if anything needs to be changed.
They’ll also hire an outside law or HR firm to dig into the city’s handling of past and current investigations. That independent firm will then make recommendations on what, if anything, needs to change by February 2025.
According to an email sent by the mayor to city staff, there are currently six investigations happening and a seventh led to the firing of a staff administrator last week for violating the city’s sexual harassment policy.
The seven committee members will also look at recent measures implemented by the mayor and decide if those measures need to be taken before the full City-County Council and voted on as resolutions.
If those resolutions pass, the measures would have a more permanent status, even when a new administration takes over.
Mayor's executive order
Last month, Hogsett signed an executive order requiring all city and county employees to take yearly sexual harassment training, not just supervisors.
Hogsett also announced an internal anonymous system for employees to report harassment of any kind while the city searches for a third party vendor to handle those complaints.
The city is also hiring a national law firm with no local ties to review and make recommendations to the city's employee handbook.
Hogsett's statement
Mayor Joe Hogsett did not attend Monday’s meeting. Instead, his team sent a statement on his behalf.
"I commend the City-County Council for ensuring that their investigation as part of Proposal 287 will protect the confidentiality of any current or former City employee who was or may be involved in any claim of sexual harassment. In order to create a safer, better work environment, it is imperative that everyone who works for the City knows they can report harassment of any kind without fear of retribution, and that all investigations will be conducted in a confidential manner.
I remain committed to working with the City-County Council and the entire Administration to make continued changes to our policies and practices, both those initiated by my Administration and through this resolution."