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City-County Council member Jesse Brown, a first-term Democrat, has called for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to resign over his handling of sexual harassment claims against former top aide Thomas Cook.
Cook served five years as the Democratic mayor’s chief deputy and advised Hogsett in other capacities. He was accused by three subordinate female staffers of abusing his power and making unwanted advances in allegations first reported by The Indianapolis Star. An article by Mirror Indy, published Wednesday, also contained the stories of the three women.
“As today’s Mirror Indy article makes clear, Joe Hogsett knew about Cook’s predatory behavior by May 2017 (at the latest), yet he continued to employ and empower Cook for six more years,” wrote Brown, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist often at odds with much of the rest of the council’s Democratic caucus. “As a direct result of Hogsett’s complicity, Cook went on to sexually abuse at least two more subordinate City employees.”
Council President Vop Osili, a Democrat, did not respond to IBJ’s requests for comment on Brown’s call for the mayor to resign.
In a post on X late Thursday, Osili acknowledged the two women who came forward, Caroline Ellert and Lauren Roberts. A third woman has remained anonymous.
“To both of them, I want to say clearly: you are believed. You have been heard. And you are not alone in seeking change,” Osili wrote. “We must make meaningful changes to the system that failed to protect these women from the appalling and predatory treatment they experienced.”
Osili said he has been working with the council to address any issues in the city’s current sexual harassment procedures and response. He said women on the council are leading that charge, and “there will be more to share on our next steps soon.”
Republicans, who are outnumbered 19-6 on the council and hold little sway, said they would work to introduce a resolution at Monday night’s council meeting to create a committee to investigate the mayor’s response to the allegations against Cook.
“In order to properly restore the trust in our executive branch, we must have an outside body thoroughly investigate these and any other allegations that may exist,” the Republican caucus said in a written statement. “We hope our Democrat colleagues will join us to make sure all elected officials are held to the highest of standards and to send a message that employees of the City-County have a safe and equitable workplace.”
Cook’s behavior was investigated on three separate occasions, according to a July statement from city attorneys. The first was in 2017, when he was reprimanded for “inappropriate advances” toward a coworker on the Hogsett campaign in 2014. Cook resigned to join an Indianapolis law firm after an alleged inappropriate relationship in 2020, but the reason for his departure was not shared publicly at the time. He was brought back to lead Hogsett’s 2023 reelection campaign.
In October, following a third alleged inappropriate relationship with a subordinate on the campaign, Hogsett severed ties with Cook, including all contracts with the city and related entities.
Brown said in a statement posted to X that the mayor was complicit in Cook’s alleged abuse of women.
“It’s one thing for the Mayor’s chief of staff to use his power and position to sexually exploit his direct reports; it’s another for the Mayor to allow it to happen again, and again, and again,” he wrote.
In the same statement, Brown said the administration has failed in the three weeks since the allegations came to light to address the situation. He said there is still no clear, confidential method to report sexual harassment. Additionally, Brown said training is not required for all employees—just elected officials and supervisors.
City spokeswoman Aliya Wishner provided a statement denying Brown’s claim, saying the city’s reporting policy states that an employee can confidentially report sexual harassment to anyone within the city-county enterprise with whom they feel comfortable, and it explicitly prohibits retaliation, the statement said.
Supervisors began receiving mandatory bi-annual sexual harassment training in 2019, Wishner wrote. All new employees are required to complete training as part of their onboarding process.
Additionally, the administration is working to create an anonymous online option for reporting sexual harassment, Wishner wrote.
Brown said the issue regarding the mayor should be taken up by the City-County Council Ethics Committee.
Democrat Jessica McCormick, who is chair of the council committee, said it is intended to address ethics violations of councilors, not city or county employees. She said issues involving city employees fall under the purview of the city-county human resources department.
However, McCormick said she is committed to conducting a thorough review of city-county policies and practices around sexual harassment and, if deemed necessary, amending ordinances and making change within the council’s power.
She referred to her personal roles as a woman, a mother and an aunt, saying she is “dedicated to fixing this.”
“I am here and will advocate for victims who have suffered within the city, within the employment, to the extent that we can as councilors,” McCormick said.
Roberts, the former campaign staffer who came to Hogsett with concerns about Cook in 2017, also indicated in a post on X that she would like to see the Ethics Committee led by McCormick take action. Roberts said she was never interviewed for the 2017 investigation.
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