5 days ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'Too much, too fast': Indianapolis City-County Council GOP leader was ousted. Here's why
Indianapolis City-County Council Republicans have ousted their leader after he served less than eight months in the role, signaling discord in a caucus that already has limited power.
A majority of council Republicans voted on Aug. 11 to replace Michael-Paul Hart with Brian Mowery as the caucus' minority leader. Mowery previously served in the role between 2020 and 2024, before Hart was selected by his peers back in January.
Hart, along with a council spokesperson, confirmed that the vote took place at the party's caucus meeting.
"The caucus was looking for a different pace," Hart said. "We've been busy, doing a lot. It was expressed to me that they like a slower pace. They wanted to slow down and go back to their original style. I was giving them too much, too fast."
Hart said he was proud of his work as minority leader, including getting amendments passed, writing policies, hosting press conferences and other "bipartisan successes," as he described them.
It's unclear if a recent vote contributed to the ouster. Hart, along with another Republican and two Democrats, recently voted to start proceedings to remove Council President Vop Osili and Vice President Ali Brown from their leadership positions, following concerns about their handling of the council's recent sexual harassment investigation involving the Hogsett administration.
Hart declined to comment on whether that vote contributed to the members' decision to vote for a new leader. Most Republicans didn't vote in favor of Osili and Brown's removal.
Hart was first elected to the council in 2019 and reelected in 2023.
Democrats have a supermajority on the 25-member City-County Council, holding 19 seats. Republicans hold six seats.
Mowery did not immediately reply to IndyStar's request for comment, and neither did the Indy GOP's chairwoman Natalie Goodwin.
