Should Joe Stay Or Should He Go?

by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq

This may surprise both friend and foe alike, but let me be clear: I don’t think Joe Hogsett should step down.

In the wake of the sexual harassment scandal involving his former chief of staff, Thomas Cook, there’s no shortage of outrage — and understandably so. It’s offensive, infuriating, and emblematic of a system that still struggles to believe and protect women when it matters most.

But before we start lighting the torches,  sharpening pitchforks and organizing Hogsett’s political funeral, let’s ask the question no one seems to be asking: What, exactly, is Joe Hogsett guilty of?

Because last I checked, he wasn’t the one making inappropriate comments. He wasn’t the one creeping on coworkers. He wasn’t the one getting escorted out in disgrace. That would be Thomas Cook — who, for the record, was fired after complaints surfaced. And while you can fault the mayor for not handling it as swiftly or as transparently as people wanted, you can’t say he ignored it either.

Could he have done more? Yes. Was the communication sloppy? Absolutely. But sloppy management is not the same thing as criminal conduct. It’s not even disqualifying unless we’re prepared to start firing every elected official who’s ever hired the wrong person — in which case, I hope you’ve got a long unemployment line ready, because we’ll be there all day.

And yes — since we’re being honest — there’s that other issue floating around: the mayor’s own “creepy” late-night texts to a former city employee. Are they inappropriate? Absolutely. Were they boneheaded for a sitting mayor? Without question. But let’s keep our standards straight. Bad judgment is not the same as misconduct, and there’s no evidence — at least not yet — that those texts crossed into harassment or abuse of power territory. Still, it’s a reminder that Hogsett’s got some personal reflecting to do, not just political damage control.

The truth is, if I had been elected Mayor in 2023 like more than a few Democrats now tell me they wish I had been, this wouldn’t have happened. Not like this. The odds of a Thomas Cook-type sticking around 68 days after credible allegations landed on my desk? Slim to none — and slim would’ve been packing up his office by lunchtime.

But I digress.

Let’s return to the city we actually live in, with the mayor we’ve actually got. Joe Hogsett is in the final lap of his political career. He’s not running again. The man’s not angling for higher office, and frankly, his political capital is about as spent as downtown parking meters after 6 p.m.

And that’s exactly why he should stay in office.

Hear me out: There’s no incentive for Hogsett to cover anything up. No reason to play politics with this. He has every reason to cooperate fully, implement structural changes, and show the city — and more importantly, the women affected — that Indianapolis can be better than this.

You want real accountability? Then keep the man in the hot seat. Make him do the uncomfortable work. Drag him out of the bunker, stick him in front of a microphone, and demand answers. But don’t force a resignation just so we can all collectively feel like we “did something.”

Because we’ve seen what happens when you chase the optics instead of the outcomes. We get chaos. We get leadership vacuums. We get interim mayors and political opportunists circling City Hall like vultures with LinkedIn accounts.

Let’s also not ignore the pearl-clutching hypocrisy floating around. Some of the loudest voices demanding Hogsett’s resignation weren’t nearly as vocal when Curtis Hill got handsy at a party — or when other “allies” brushed off complaints about their own people. Suddenly, Joe’s a pariah? Please.

Here’s what we should do: conduct a full independent investigation. Release the findings publicly. Implement mandatory reforms. And hold everyone accountable — not just the guy whose name is on the door.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Removing Joe Hogsett won’t fix the culture that allowed this to happen. If anything, it risks letting the system off the hook while sacrificing a mayor who, while far from perfect, is not the one who committed the misconduct.

So no, Joe Hogsett shouldn’t resign.

But he should be very uncomfortable — every single day — until this is made right.