A third member of the City-County Council is calling on Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett to resign.
Josh Bain, who represents the south side, on June 10 became the first Republican to do so, joining eastside Democrats Andy Nielsen and Jesse Brown.
Bain’s statement came less than 24 hours after Lauren Roberts was forcibly removed by sheriff’s deputies from a June 9 council meeting after she tried to speak about her experience working on Hogsett’s first mayoral campaign. The deputies were following orders from Council President Vop Osili, a Democrat, who later said he had her removed because she said she would not adhere to the 2-minute time limit for public comment.
In a lengthy written statement, Bain said the findings of a law firm’s investigation into sexual harassment accusations against Hogsett’s former chief of staff Thomas Cook were “damning” and showed “profound ethical failures at the highest levels of city leadership.”
Get the backstory
Bain’s letter also raised questions about Hogsett’s response to civil unrest in 2020. That’s a familiar line of criticism from conservatives in Indianapolis, who have said the mayor should have been more present at the time. Hogsett has said previously that he was working the weekend of the protests, sometimes at home.
It’s unclear if the five other Republicans on the council will join Bain. The Republican caucus put out a June 9 statement asking Crista Carlino, the Democratic councilor who chaired the investigative committee, to agree to a public hearing to answer questions about the law firm’s investigation.
A week following the report’s release, Roberts and former city staffer Caroline Ellert shared text messages they received from the mayor that they said made them feel uncomfortable. Those messages were not included by the law firm in the report.
Roberts and Ellert also took issue with the mayor’s claim that Ellert never used the words “sexual assault” when detailing her allegations against Cook in a 2023 phone call to the mayor. Hogsett told the firm that Ellert did not use that term, according to the report.
Cook has not been charged with a crime. He has not responded to several attempts by Mirror Indy to provide comment.
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.
