Hogsett to require all employees to complete harassment training/Analysts blast Hogsett’s handling of Cook allegations

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Democratic strategist on Friday said Mayor Joe Hogsett’s inaction over sexual harassment allegations against his former chief of staff speak volumes about the office he leads.

Arielle Brandy, the former president of Indiana Young Democrats and an All INdiana Politics contributor, said Hogsett’s apology to former Deputy Campaign Manager Lauren Roberts and former mayor’s office employee Caroline Ellert on Monday night was inadequate. She said Hogsett’s failure to act more decisively on the complaints speak volumes about the way he runs his office.

“It’s something that has perpetuated within the administration and it’s something that needs to be handled immediately,” Brandy said. “When you have two women who have put forth horrific stories about what has happened to them, and the fact that it has been ignored and there have been no policies and procedures put in place to protect the people that serve and work for you, I think that speaks volumes.”

Roberts has said she contacted Hogsett repeatedly beginning in May 2017 after enduring sexual harassment and abuse from Chief of Staff Thomas Cook. Hogsett has said Cook was investigated and disciplined at the time, but Roberts said she was never interviewed or even told about an investigation. All INdiana Politics contributor Mario Massillamany, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor and chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said Roberts should have been interviewed. He said employers have an obligation to move swiftly and aggressively whenever someone complains of sexual harassment.

“This is 2024. This type of behavior should not be tolerated,” Massillamany said. “And when it’s brought to the attention of a supervisor or the proper authorities, this needs to be handled immediately. This didn’t happen once. This didn’t happen twice. This happened, as far as we know, at least three times, and that is unacceptable.”

Brandy said proposed changes to the city’s sexual harassment prevention policy, including expanded training and an anonymous reporting portal, are a step in the right direction, but larger changes in the political world are needed, both for campaigns and for public offices. She said she has been pushing for such changes for years within the Democratic Party.

“It was an issue within campaigns, an issue within the party, and then workplaces,” Brandy said. “Until we get a grasp on it, and call it out for what it is and hold people accountable, we can’t keep putting people in positions of power and allowing them to abuse it for the people that are actually trying to help get them elected.”

All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.