Democrats say Hogsett ‘weakened moral authority’ of office, plan independent positions to hold government accountable

Critics of Mayor Joe Hogsett attend a City-County Council meeting on Monday, June 9. (IBJ photo/Taylor Wooten)

Mayor Joe Hogsett’s past and recent conduct has compromised public trust and “weakened the moral authority” of the city administration, Democratic members of the City-County Council said in a statement Monday that called for him to “reflect deeply on the gravity of this moment.”

The Democratic Caucus, which holds 18 of the council’s 25 seats, announced it would create three new independent boards or positions meant to hold city government accountable to the public and investigate allegations of wrong doing in city and county offices.

The statement comes in the wake of a law firm’s investigation into whether Hogsett and his administration appropriately handled allegations against his former chief of staff, Thomas Cook.

Atlanta-based Fisher Phillips reported that the city government didn’t break any laws in its reaction to the allegations, but the firm raised red flags about a workplace culture that it called “more of a fraternity or sorority … than emblematic of a business setting.” It recommended the changes that Democrats said Monday they will consider.

But last week, two of the women who accused Cook of wrongdoing and were interviewed by Fisher Phillips told The Indianapolis Star that the law firm omitted key details and documents from the report, including “uncomfortable” text messages they had received from Hogsett and provided to investigators.

Hogsett said in a statement issued by his office that “the Fisher Phillips report is clear and shows that as mayor, I acted according to the law and policy in every circumstance when complaints were reported to me. My cooperation was not only unprecedented but incredibly important to me.”

“After this report was issued, I committed to working with the City-County Council on the recommendations that came from the report,” he said.

The Democratic Caucus statement came several hours after Indy Republicans requested a deeper probe into Fisher Phillips’ investigation.

“This isn’t about politics, it’s about restoring trust. The public deserves transparency, and survivors deserve accountability,” Minority Leader Micahel-Paul Hart said in a written statement issued Monday morning. “We won’t allow facts to be buried or voices to be ignored.”

Democrat Andy Nielsen, a first-term city-county councilor, has already called for Hogsett to resign. In its statement, the Democratic Caucus did not go that far. But it said Hogsett’s “actions are inconsistent with the ethical expectations we hold for ourselves and one another as stewards of this great city’s future.”

One Democratic councilor, Ron Gibson, issued a separate statement on Monday, saying that the law firm found no wrongdoing by the Hogsett administration. He said that anyone critiquing the mayor is doing so for “political gain.”

When asked by reporters about late-night texts and texts about poetry that the women said they received from Hogsett, Gibson said after-hours communication is part of running a campaign and that texts about poetry “might align with policy.”

However, another Democratic councilor, John Barth, said in a statement that he is concerned that the “culture of inappropriate conduct extended to the highest levels of city leadership.”

“It appears that the ‘tone at the top’ was set by the mayor himself,” Barth wrote.

He and Republican members of the council said Fisher Phillips needs to answer questions about why information that appears to be relevant to its investigation of the Hogsett administration was not included in its report.

Barth said he’s asked that any remaining payments to Fisher Phillips, which was awarded a $450,000 contract to conduct the investigation, be withheld until the council’s questions are addressed.

Hogsett said “questions related to the investigation or report should be directed to Fisher Phillips.” And he said he is “focused on the future and the next 2-½ years of this term.”

In its statement, the Democratic Caucus said it would consider several actions, which Fisher Phillips had recommended in its report, including:

Creation of an independent ad-hoc inspector general to investigate policy violations involving city-county elected or appointed officials.

Establishment of an independent human resources board, replacing the current Human Resources Division, and forming a Human Resources Division led by a human resources officer.

Removal of the Office of Equal Opportunity from within city’s Office of Corporation Counsel and make it an independent agency with expanded jurisdiction over all city-county employee complaints.

“As Democrats, we believe our city’s character begins with its leadership and a firm commitment to justice, equity and good governance,” the Democratic Caucus statement said. “In the event that additional information comes to light during this ongoing investigation that negatively bears on this situation, our council remains committed to taking whatever additional steps may be necessary to do the right thing.”