INDIANAPOLIS — City-County Councilor Andy Nielsen is calling for Mayor Joe Hogsett's resignation on Monday after a third-party investigation found the Mayor legally compliant in instances of sexual harassment last week.
PREVIOUS — Final report on harassment allegations against the Hogsett administration
Councilor Nielsen, who served as a member of the bipartisan investigative committee, shared a statement on social media calling for Mayor Hogsett's resignation.
Councilor Andy Nielsen’s Response to Investigative Committee Final Report pic.twitter.com/JOGYH4jWmW
— Andy Nielsen (@IndyAndyNielsen) June 2, 2025
"I can only conclude that while the Mayor and his administration complied with the law and city policy as written, these standards were and remain clearly inadequate," Nielsen wrote.
"Ultimately, the investigation's underlying conclusion is clear: the Mayor's repeated decisions to retain Cook demonstrated a profound lack of judgment and disregard for fundamental ethics. These decisions knowingly put people in harm's way and eroded the trust in the institutions that we should and must hold to the highest standards. I am incredibly disappointed by this poor leadership," wrote Nielsen.
Nielsen concluded that statement, stating he believes "accountability starts with a change in leadership. Mayor Joe Hogsett must resign."
Mayor Hogsett released this statement in the wake of the renewed calls for his resignation.
While we don’t always agree, one thing the City-County Council and I do agree on is the importance of continually improving City policies and training; a bipartisan commitment I reaffirmed in a letter to the Council President and Committee Chair last Friday, May 30. Within 24 hours, I also instructed the Office of Corporation Counsel (OCC) to review all relevant materials on the range of work Thomas Cook was engaged with during his final months of employment with the City, which will be made available to the Council and the public in the next few days. OCC is beginning to look into what would legally need to be done to implement the recommendations put forth by the Council’s law firm, Fisher Phillips, to further strengthen the processes available to protect all employees in the City-County enterprise. I ask that the Council work with my office to schedule a productive and open dialogue about all the measures proposed in the final report as soon as possible.
PREVIOUS | Former Hogsett campaign staffer shares her account of sexual misconduct
