Editorial: Inquiry into how Hogsett handled allegations must be thorough

You know the situation is serious when members of a politician’s own party decide to investigate that politician’s actions.

That is what happened this week to Mayor Joe Hogsett. His fellow Democrats, who control the City-County Council, joined Republicans in agreeing to hire an outside firm to launch an independent investigation into the administration’s handling of sexual harassment allegations.

Now we just hope the council keeps the heat on to get to the bottom of this very messy and unacceptable situation.

The allegations came to light this summer when three women accused Thomas Cook, Hogsett’s former chief of staff, of abusing his power by pursuing relationships with them. The Indianapolis Star was first to report the women’s stories, questioning why Hogsett kept Cook on his city staff until the second allegation arose and later gave him a role on his mayoral campaign until a third woman complained. (Cook has issued a statement acknowledging consensual relationships but saying he did not “use my professional position to further those personal relationships.”)

We applaud council Democrats for agreeing to investigate the whole sordid affair. Our hope now is that the investigation isn’t just for show to ease the public backlash over the Hogsett administration’s failure to do more to protect women in its employ.

We are calling on the council’s investigatory committee of five Democrats and two Republicans to deeply examine a situation that appears to have created an environment in which sexual harassment was tolerated.

Last week, Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development administrator Matt Pleasant was fired after an internal investigation found “overwhelming evidence” of inappropriate sexual misconduct. Sexual harassment allegations also have been lodged against six other current or former city employees.

Among the facts the council’s investigatory committee must determine are:

◗ Whether Cook was treated any differently than any other city employee previously accused of sexual harassment. Did the mayor go out of his way to protect Cook’s job after the first sexual-harassment complaint arose?

◗ Did the city’s human resources department ever interview Lauren Roberts, one of the three women who accused Cook? Roberts has said she was never interviewed as part of an investigation the mayor says was conducted after her allegations in 2017. Hogsett has said she was contacted.

◗ Does the mayor take the allegations seriously? Comments he made over the weekend seemed to to make light of the situation. He told a crowd at the Mike Epps concert that he was “running from things,” after noticeably limiting his public appearances in the aftermath of the harassment stories. A senior Hogsett administration official told IndyStar the mayor was joking.

So far, only far-left City-County Councilor Jesse Brown has called for Hogsett’s resignation over the broader scandal.

We are not prepared to go that far. But we hold that option in abeyance until the council provides some clear answers.•

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