Two women who described being victimized and trapped by Mayor Joe Hogsett’s former top aide are now calling for widespread changes to the city’s process for reporting sexual harassment.
The Aug. 8 letter, obtained first by Mirror Indy, was sent to Hogsett and City-County Council President Vop Osili, both Democrats. It comes in the wake of investigations by Mirror Indy and IndyStar that detailed nearly a decade of abuse of power and harassment by Thomas Cook, Hogsett’s former chief of staff who also worked on his mayoral campaigns.
The letter was signed by former city staffer Caroline Ellert and former campaign staffer Lauren Roberts, who both worked for Cook.
“Systems should protect workers when individuals do not or cannot,” they said in the letter. “It is undeniable that the campaign and the city’s current sexual harassment policies and reporting systems failed at multiple levels. This failure, as well as the inaction on the part of the mayor and other powerful people who work for him, allowed Cook’s abuse of power to continue unchecked for years.”
Neither Hogsett or Osili immediately responded to Mirror Indy’s requests for comment Thursday afternoon.
Cook, who has not been charged with a crime, has not responded to several requests by Mirror Indy for interviews.
What Ellert and Roberts are demanding
Roberts and Ellert are calling for an independent examination to identify any problems with the city’s current process for reporting sexual harassment.
They also want the Hogsett administration to take additional measures to train and educate employees of their rights, and establish a support structure for people who have been victimized, including free mental health services.
[Council to launch inquiry following allegations against former top Hogsett aide]
They also say that employees should be able to contact an “independent, third-party entity” to report sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace.
“While the city and mayor are protected by a multitude of lawyers and advisors, survivors often do not have the resources to hire their own legal advocates to protect themselves in the reporting process,” they said in the letter. “An independent reporting system would help ease survivors’ fears of legal retaliation from their employer.”
Ellert and Roberts are seeking both transparency and accountability along with new measures to protect city employees from the kind of harassment and abuse they experienced.
Roberts, who worked as a deputy campaign manager for Hogsett’s first mayoral campaign, first contacted Hogsett and top city and campaign officials in May 2017 to raise her concerns about Cook’s behavior. City officials recently said Cook was reprimanded following a 2017 investigation, but Roberts said she was never contacted. Roberts is asking for any data and documentation related to the investigation and disciplinary action.
Ellert, who worked two stints in the Hogsett administration, repeatedly declined Cook’s advances but he persisted — sending her gifts, showing up at her home, and urging her to join him alone to drink alcohol. She reported his behavior in 2023 — which led to Cook’s removal from Hogsett’s campaign.
Roberts and Ellert are demanding that the reforms are included in the city’s 2025 budget.
Republicans call for investigation
The day after Mirror Indy’s article was published, the six Republicans on city-county council issued a joint statement saying they were open to working with Democrats to create an investigating committee next week.
“The fact that multiple women came forward over the years only to have their serious allegations about a senior administration official ignored is disturbing and needs to be properly addressed,” the statement read.
Randy Head, chair of the Indiana Republican Party, told Mirror Indy that the Indiana GOP supports the caucus’ efforts to investigate “the alleged troubling pattern of inappropriate behavior tolerated by the mayor of Indiana’s capital city.”
Democratic councilor calls for Hogsett’s resignation
Democratic City-County Councilor Jesse Brown, meanwhile, is calling for Hogsett’s resignation.
“@IndyMayorJoe’s cover-up and dereliction of leadership has led to women in this city being hurt for too many years. Mayor Joe Hogsett must resign,” Brown posted on X.
The council’s Ethics Committee planned to meet Thursday, though it’s unclear if the allegations against Cook would be addressed at the meeting.
Mike Schmuhl, chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, declined to comment Thursday.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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