Democratic Indy council member calls for council leadership change, Hogsett's resignation
The Indianapolis City-County Council member who leads the committee investigating allegations of sexual harassment within Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration became the fourth councilor to call for the mayor to resign over the scandal on Tuesday night.
She also demanded that the council's top two Democrats step down from their leadership roles over their involvement with the investigation.
Democratic Councilor Crista Carlino, the chair of the investigative committee that councilors created in September 2024 to investigate the allegations, implied that Council President Vop Osili and Council Vice President Ali Brown mishandled the "marching orders" given to an outside law firm hired to examine the misconduct. She also criticized their leadership displayed during a June 9 council meeting, where Osili ordered sheriff's deputies to forcibly remove alleged victim Lauren Roberts for exceeding the time limit for public comment.
Carlino said the firm's 54-page report focused too narrowly on Thomas Cook, the top Hogsett aide who was accused of harassing and pushing for unwanted sexual encounters with several women subordinates, while overlooking alleged misconduct by others including the mayor. IndyStar revealed that the report excluded late night and personal texts Hogsett sent to two of Cook's alleged victims that made them uncomfortable.
"Joe Hogsett must resign," Carlino said during a June 17 meeting focused on whether to pay the additional $300,000 that councilors owe to law firm Fisher Phillips. "The leadership of this council needs to step down as well so that we can move forward with fidelity in implementing change and establishing a culture of trust and respect for all city workers and our constituents in the city of Indianapolis."
Osili did not attend Tuesday night's committee meeting but sent IndyStar a statement rejecting claims that he somehow limited the scope of the law firm's investigation.
"In no way did I have any personal influence on the scope of the contract with the law firm that investigated misconduct in the Hogsett administration," Osili said in a written statement. "To suggest that I did is not only false, it is an attack against my integrity and the values that I hold in every aspect of my life."
Brown, the council vice president, also denied that she was involved in narrowing the scope of the investigation. She said that she had no involvement with the investigative committee by choice. She told IndyStar that she has been mostly silent about the investigation throughout the last year as she navigates severe trauma stemming from a sexual assault she experienced while a college student at Ball State University in January 2004.
She disclosed that assault to her council colleagues, including Carlino, last year.
'I told them I really want to see this done right and I am having terrible flashbacks,' Brown said. 'I know I couldn't do a good job if I'm hurting this bad. I want to make sure the judgment is not clouded. Trauma isn't a sign of weakness, but it's also about knowing what your limitations are. (Carlino's accusation) feels like a betrayal. It just hurts."
Four councilors have now called for Hogsett to resign: Democrats Carlino, Andy Nielsen and Jesse Brown, as well as Republican Joshua Bain. A fifth council member, Jessica McCormick, hinted Tuesday night that she may soon add to calls for the mayor to step down.
"I think accountability comes at the top," McCormick said, "and we need to make sure that those that are allowing the behavior to continue and to have gone on need to be held accountable."
While Hogsett has acknowledged that his texts to younger women may have made them uncomfortable, he told IndyStar in a June 10 interview that they were part of the "casual conversation style" he has developed with political aides and advisers. He said he has "no intent to resign" before the end of his third term.
The council's Administration and Finance Committee ultimately voted 7-5 to recommend approval of the $300,000 payment, which the full council will vote on in a future meeting. Even Carlino voted in favor of the payment, saying that Fisher Phillips fulfilled its duties and accountability should rest with city leaders. Democrats Rena Allen, Maggie Lewis, Nick Roberts, Frank Mascari, Andy Nielsen and Dan Boots also voted in favor of the payment.
Despite the approval, councilors said they have questions for Fisher Phillips that they want answered, potentially in a follow-up hearing. The five councilors who voted not to approve the payment to Fisher Phillips — Democrat John Barth and Republicans Michael Dilk, Paul Annee, Derek Cahill and Brian Mowery — said the council should demand those answers before sending over the final $300,000 in a roughly $450,000 investigation.
Carlino said her inquiries to Fisher Phillips about a possible follow-up hearing have so far been rebuffed.
"I've been ... threatened with the fact that there could be a potential defamation case since some of my colleagues came out speaking against the investigation," Carlino said. "I've been told that they probably will not appear in person, but I remain committed to gathering all the questions not only from my colleagues but from members of the public and those survivors to get our questions answered in writing."
Carlino's announcement comes eight days after sheriff's deputies pushed Roberts out of the council chambers while she was trying to criticize the council's investigation of alleged sexual harassment against her and two other women. The council invited her and other victims to speak in person Tuesday night, but none showed — two live out of state, and Roberts said she no longer feels safe at the City-County Building.
Instead, the councilors and dozens of Roberts' supporters who want Hogsett to resign listened to a legal advocate from the National Women's Defense League read Roberts' and Caroline Ellert's statements aloud. Councilors also relived the chaos of the June 9 meeting, as a nearly 18-minute audio recording Roberts captured that night was played aloud. At a point in the audio where Roberts breaks down sobbing in an elevator, Carlino shut her eyes while other councilors listened with bowed heads.
Roberts, who says she was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder after her experience working with Cook and the Hogsett campaign from November 2014 to June 2015, said the days since the June 9 meeting have been "some of the darkest days of my recovery." Two days after removing Roberts from the June 9 meeting, Osili said he regretted his decision and should have acted to deescalate the situation.
"I am no longer willing to put my safety at risk," Roberts wrote in her statement to councilors June 17, "to help you do your jobs."
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