The organization that puts on the Irvington Halloween Festival is asking Mayor Joe Hogsett not to attend this year’s event.
The Irvington Community Council voted at an Oct. 21 meeting to send a letter to Hogsett asking him not to come to the highly attended festival in light of recent critical media coverage of his administration.
Mirror Indy obtained a copy of an Oct. 22 letter addressed to Hogsett and signed by council president Sue Beecher.
“In response to a formal request from neighbors — and out of respect for survivors of sexual assault and others affected — the Historic Irvington Community Council has voted to formally ask that you refrain from attending any event associated with the 79th Historic Irvington Halloween Festival,” the letter reads in part.
See the letter
Beecher confirmed the letter’s authenticity when reached by Mirror Indy. She declined to comment further.
The letter also cites “serious concerns” related to Thomas Cook, the mayor’s former chief of staff who has been accused of sexual harassment and abuse of power.
“While we understand this is a public event and we cannot restrict your attendance, we urge you to consider the impact your presence may have,” the letter reads. “At best, it would be a distraction; at worst, it would be re-traumatizing for members of our community.”
Organizers for the event said they reached out to the mayor’s communications director to find out if he was going to attend but did not receive a commitment.
A Hogsett spokesperson told Mirror Indy in an emailed statement that there is “an official process” to request the mayor’s appearance at community events.
“The mayor’s office did not receive an invite to this event through that process,” the statement read. “As a result, the mayor has conflicts and will not attend the Halloween Festival this year.”
The popular festival, which kicked off this week and runs through Saturday, Oct. 25, attracts about 80,000 visitors each year, according to the organizer’s website.
The letter comes one week after a Mirror Indy/IndyStar investigation detailed how Hogsett, a Democrat, ignored conflicts of interest involving millions of dollars in city incentives.
The joint investigation from the news outlets revealed that Cook was asked to resign at the end of 2020 because of a prohibited relationship with a subordinate, Scarlett Andrews.
Cook then became a partner at a downtown law firm where he signed up big-name developers seeking city incentives. Andrews, meanwhile, was promoted to lead the city agency charged with recommending those incentives, which raised ethical concerns within the administration.
Since that investigation published, Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican city-county councilor, has called for the mayor’s resignation, joining four other councilors who previously asked the mayor to step down for his handling of sexual harassment allegations against Cook.
Councilor Andy Nielsen, a Democrat who represents Irvington, called for the mayor to resign in June. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking whether he supported the Irvington Community Council’s recent decision.
While several city-county councilors expressed concerns about Cook’s involvement in economic development deals, it’s unclear whether the council will take any formal action in response to the news outlets’ findings.
Several councilors, including Council President Vop Osili, a Democrat, told reporters they want to see additional reporting from Mirror Indy and IndyStar before deciding how to move forward.
An update was made on Oct. 23, 2025: This article was updated to include a response from the mayor’s office.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
