Senate Democrats elected a new minority leader Wednesday after Sen. Greg Taylor denied three new sexual harassment allegations.
Sen. Shelli Yoder, of Bloomington, will be the next leader of the ten-member caucus. An initial statement didn’t indicate whether the vote was unanimous.
Taylor, from Indianapolis, vehemently and repeatedly denied the allegations in an impromptu gaggle with reporters before the scheduled caucus earlier Wednesday.
“The caucus expressed gratitude to Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) for his dedicated service as Senate minority leader since 2020. Taylor’s leadership was defined by his collaborative approach, working across the aisle to find common ground while consistently advocating for fairness and progress, laying a strong foundation for the work ahead,” a news release said.
It said Yoder “brings a wealth of experience and a passion for advocacy, particularly in reproductive rights, educational access and health care equity.”
Taylor fought back a challenge for the position last month on Organization Day after the first round of accusations. The four members who opposed him — Yoder, Sen. Andrea Hunley, Sen. J.D. Ford and Sen. Randy Pol — publicly explained their votes against Taylor, but his supporters did not.
Joining Yoder in leadership are Hunley, of Indianapolis, as assistant minority leader; Pol, of Chesterton, as caucus chair; Sen. La Keisha Jackson, of Indianapolis, as assistant caucus chair; and Ford, of Indianapolis, as caucus whip.
“The caucus is united in its vision and commitment to addressing the most pressing issues facing Indiana,” the release said.
In an initial statement in November, Taylor acknowledged mistakes and “blurred lines” in and a story from three women accusing the long-time politician of sexual harassment. But this week the Indianapolis Star reported allegations from three more women.
Taylor speaks
Earlier on Wednesday, Taylor talked with reporters after a leadership panel in downtown Indianapolis.
“My focus is going to be working with the legislature to try to get public policy passed. I’m not going to address those issues … from over 15 years ago that are false and that’s the way I’m going to proceed,” Taylor said.
The long-time senator and attorney appeared confused at several points, contradicting himself and failing to clarify what he meant when he said caucus discussion put him in this position.
He explicitly denied pushing a woman, following another woman into a bathroom or assaulting an intern.
Despite the cloud of allegations, Taylor said he believed he could still be an effective minority leader, pointing to legislation passed from his caucus and the hiring of three women as staff, including the chief of staff, the finance director and the communications director. He additionally called himself an “advocate” for women.
Indiana Senate Democrats retain leader despite sexual harassment allegations
“I’ve also emphasized the importance of workplace safety, not only through my actions but through my votes on the floor,” Taylor said. “So, yes. I do think I can be an effective leader and I’ve established the kind of relationships that allow me to be effective.”
When asked about leading colleagues who might feel “cynical” about his leadership, he said, “I don’t know what that means.”
“We all are human beings, so we’re going to have different ideas about what public policy we should take. But my track record speaks for itself,” he continued.
Taylor retained a public relations firm to handle press communications, including an initial response shared with the IndyStar in which he didn’t explicitly deny the charges.
The full statement said: “As an elected official, I am responsible for maintaining high professionalism and respecting the boundaries of all I engage with. While this has always been my goal, there have been times when I may have blurred the lines and behaved in a manner that potentially made my colleagues or those who witnessed my actions uncomfortable. While it was never my intent to cause harm, I acknowledge that I have fallen short, and for this, I apologize.”
When asked about those comments, he said the public relations firm put that statement out but said he wasn’t trying to backtrack on it.
“I didn’t do the things that people were saying that I did and I can’t chase a ghost,” Taylor said. “I don’t know who these people are; I don’t know what they’re talking about. I can’t chase a ghost. I can’t. And if this is the precedent we want to set then there’s a lot — yeah, that’s just a bad precedent.”
First Black caucus leader
It would be “very presumptuous” to say he’d never made a mistake in his 16 years at the Statehouse, he said.
“… you could say a word, you could touch somebody with no intention at all. And if you do those things, you should apologize. That the human nature thing; that’s what you’re supposed to do,” said the Democrat leader. “If I did, I apologize … I love being a senator; I love the work that I do. I love my constituents; I love helping people who need help.
“That’s all that my entire career has been based on …” he continued. “I just, I can’t understand what this is about. I don’t know.”
Taylor noted that he was the first Black caucus leader in the state’s history and that, during his time, he’d seen other allegations come forth from people “who said who they are.”
“I haven’t been given any of them. And, as far as I’m concerned, that speaks loudly, especially from what we just experienced recently.”
Need to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
It’s not clear what experiences Taylor is referencing.
“I’m of the position that I want to get back to the work that I was elected here to do and I want to help Hoosiers in the state of Indiana and continue to push the public policy.”
When asked if he was implying the accusations had racist undertones, he said he was speaking facts when bringing up his historic position and pointed to his Louisiana birth.
“The word racism has a definite meaning for me. And I’ve never called anybody racist, and I’ve never said it was racism,” Taylor said.
He said, however, he wasn’t calling any of the accusers’ liars.
“… I come from a background where there’s certain things you don’t say: you don’t call a person a liar, you don’t use the word racism freely. You don’t,” Taylor said. “… I’m not going to do something negative against these women. They deserve to be heard, but I did not do these things.”
The spontaneous availability was then cut short by event staff.
