A second Indianapolis City-County Councillor is calling for Mayor Joe Hogsett to step down in the wake of the scandal involving former Chief of Staff Thomas Cook.
Cook was accused of grooming and sexually harassing young women who worked under him. Complaints dated back to 2017. Cook was reprimanded and disciplined three times before he was removed, and later went to lobby the city.
A law firm hired by the Indianapolis City-County Council to investigate how the Mayor’s office handled sexual harassment allegations levied against former Cook found that while the administration was “legally compliant” with state and federal law, the entire situation could have been handled a lot better.
In his response to the Investigative Committee report, Nielsen says, “I believe that our community’s collective character is stronger than this—and that accountability starts with a change in leadership. ” He also says, “Mayor Joe Hogsett must resign.”
Nielson is the second councillor to call on the Mayor to resign; Councillor Jesse Brown called on the Mayor to step down in August of last year.
