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Key economic development deals in Indianapolis were made by individuals who were in a secret romantic relationship, according to recent media reports, a revelation that Democrats on the Indianapolis City-County Council say has the “potential to breach public trust” and might warrant further steps.
An investigation published by Mirror Indy and The Indianapolis Star this week revealed that the city’s former top economic development official, Scarlett Andrews, had a secret relationship with Thomas Cook while he was representing private developers in city deals.
Cook, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s former chief of staff, resigned from the city in 2020 due to inappropriate relationships with colleagues but joined law firm Bose McKinney & Evans’ site selection and economic incentives group. (Cook left the law firm in 2024 following an IndyStar investigation outlining harassment allegations against him.)
After leaving the city, Cook represented clients who won competitive bid processes to redevelop high-profile, city-owned properties, such as the City Market, the Gold Building and the former downtown jail site. During that time, Andrews, the city’s director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, was part of the bid selection process. Andrews was later promoted to become deputy mayor of economic development.
Speaking to reporters at a park ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning, Hogsett said he would not “speculate on personnel matters” and defended the work his administration has done at making and vetting economic development deals.
In a written statement Wednesday, the City-County Council’s 18-member Democratic caucus said it plans to “continue to monitor the situation” and is “committed to taking any necessary steps to do what is right and hold those involved accountable.”
Hogsett responds
Hogsett said Wednesday the city’s economic development deals “undergo a tremendous amount of administrative, legislative and legal oversight,” regardless of who is involved in them.
“I’m confident that whatever economic development deals have occurred during my tenure as mayor, that they have been fully vetted for protection of the public interest,” he said.
Many of those deals have been slow-moving. The city recently moved to give the owners of downtown’s Gold Building an $18 million bailout to avoid foreclosure.
Hogsett rejected the idea that the Gold Building project was impacted by the alleged relationship as “speculative” and said that deals occasionally take longer than anticipated.
“They are all, I think, going to be coming online over the course of the next two years,” he added.
Hogsett said that Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development staff reviewed deals Cook managed as a private attorney in July of 2024.
“We have thoroughly reviewed every matter that Mr. Cook was involved in,” he said.
What happens next
In a statement Monday, Marion County Republicans accused Council Democrats of being “complicit in [Hogsett’s] corruption.”
“The culture of corruption surrounding Mayor Hogsett and his closest associates has brought shame to our city,” said Party Chair Natalie Goodwin. “Council President Vop Osili and his fellow Democrats continue to sit idly by and not just tolerate, but actively shield Hogsett from any accountability.”
Council President Vop Osili did not immediately respond to IBJ’s requests for comment.
A special Rules and Public Policy Committee meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28 to address unanswered questions sparked by an investigative report released in May. The report, assembled by Atlanta-based law firm Fisher Phillips, was meant to provide an understanding of the Hogsett administration’s handling of harassment allegations, but left some councilors with lingering questions.
Councilor Dan Boots, a Democrat and leader of a six-member investigative working group on the council, told IBJ the agenda for that upcoming meeting is set.
Boots didn’t provide updated details on the meeting, for which the agenda has yet to be released, but previously told IBJ experts will speak and explain the council’s recommendations, which will be released beforehand. Along with those recommendations, Boots said the council will release responses from Fisher Phillips, the firm that conducted the investigation, to questions submitted by councilors and involved parties.
Boots said it was “too early to tell” what steps the legislative body should take in light of the new reporting.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly included Old City Hall among projects that Cook represented private clients on.
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Is the mayor even still around anymore? Haven’t seen him in a long time. Guess I should tell him there’s a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new park in my area.
I saw him at the scene of a fatal accident a few weeks ago.
Got out of his car, gawked, drove on to the next photo opp (per his twitter events timeline that day)
Well he told 30K firefighters what great bars we had, maybe start there?
” pay to play, hand in the cookie jar” comes to mind. I wonder where the kick backs to all of these projects went.
I will never forget/forgive the “Ghost Mayor” and his negligence during the riots when he left his public safety (police/fire) officers
on the front lines with their hands tied.
Trump revokes 50 mexican politician’s visas while nearly our whole country suffers from covid politicians.
Forgive the Mayor but ask him to move on. If you dont, YOU’RE just as guilty.
So many things make sense now that we know about these back room dealings. This administration is either incompetent or corrupt — probably both. Hogseth’s responses — or lack thereof — are par for the man who let the downtown riots go on 24 hours AFTER we saw the beginning of the destruction. Disgusting.
He is such a sanctimonious hypocrite. Don”t know who selected that law firm that “investigated” the Hogsett administration related to Thomas Cook, but I would want a full refund regardless of who hired them. If you investigate the allegations of harassment, by natural extension you also need to investigate the consequences and implications of such behavior. Anything else is worthless incompetence.
And Yet……..if he ran for office tomorrow, he would win overwhelmingly. Got to love the big city political apparatus.