Councilor Leaves Committee Roles, Stays on Caucus
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis City-County Councilor Crista Carlino has stepped down from several committee roles following her call for the mayor to resign and some council leaders to leave their leadership positions.
Carlino is one of four councilors who have asked for Mayor Joe Hogsett to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment in his administration.
A representative of the City-County County said Tuesday that reports that Carlino was removed from the Democratic Caucus are untrue.
Carlino chaired the Investigative Committee, which has been looking into allegations of sexual harassment in the Hogsett administration and into the ways that Indianapolis handles harassment complaints from its employees.
A report from a Chicago firm to the committee had found city leaders did nothing illegal.
In the letter, Carlino expressed her concerns about the scope of the investigation, stating that she felt certain search terms and people were being left out. She emphasized that her calls for resignation were made with the accusers and the city’s workforce in mind, not for political motives.
In an open letter, shared Wednesday with News 8, she apologized for her previous public statements that called for the Hogsett’s resignation and for council leaders to step down. She expressed regret for not consulting her colleagues before making the statements and acknowledged the distress her actions caused.
“I apologize for the extreme accountability I called for in such a public way,” Carlino said in her letter, addressing the Council President Vop Osili and Vice President Ali Brown.
She also expressed remorse for the pain her actions caused Brown, who she described as a survivor and fighter.
Brown, Carlino, Hogsett and Osili are all Democrats.
In her letter, Carlino also apologized to fellow councilors for acting without their knowledge and for any undue stress her actions caused.
Carlino concluded her letter by stating her intention to continue serving as a member of the Democratic Caucus and as the representative for Council District 11, despite stepping down from her committee roles.
