 |
| Hogsett and Easter on the campaign trail in 2015 |
Listen, not everything that Joe Hogsett has done since he was sworn in as Mayor of Indianapolis and the Chief Executive of Marion County has been bad. He does have some wins he can point to on his resumé that show he's succeeded as Mayor.
That said, the mishandling of multiple scandals and the perception of inpropriety within his administration has drawn widespread and bipartisan criticism that, frankly, has been warranted.
I could detail it all here, but I think most of the readers of this blog would understand the laundry list of things that have gone wrong under Joe Hogsett's occupancy of the 25th Floor of the City-County Building. Multiple city agencies have come under review. His own inner circle has been rocked by scandal. He rehired people like Thomas Cook after strong allegations of inappropriate and creepy behavior came to light. He, himself, has been accused of being inappropriate towards a female staffer in his administration.
All of these allegations and mistakes have some on all sides of the political aisle, including me, calling for the resignation of the Mayor. When confronted in public, the Mayor has little to say. He dodges the allegations, and he continues to do things that just make you scratch your head.
I don't take joy in saying any of this. Joe, at one time, was a very good friend of mine. Without me even asking him, Joe Hogsett, then US Attorney, showed up at my mother's funeral viewing. He spoke with my brother and me about loss and his own personal feelings when his parents passed. Joe included me on campaign mailings when I ran for City-County Council without asking for anything in return. He campaigned with me here in Decatur Township, an area I was never likely to win. That's why the behavior I see now seems so foreign with the Joe Hogsett I knew before he was Mayor. Maybe I just didn't see the signs.
The fact of the matter now is that a fourth term as Mayor is something only Joe Hogsett wants. While he may see a path to victory by being the incumbent, I see a humiliating defeat coming. A defeat where, quite possibly, he could finish behind two far superior candidates in a primary. Maybe he thinks that the anti-Hogsett vote will split and he will cruise to victory on the support of his loyal base. At this point, though, who is that base? Developers? I mean...who?
Some have speculated privately to me that Hogsett is waiting until later in the year to decline a run. They speculate that he's continuing to enrich his campaign coffers based upon the possibility he could run again for a fourth term and then play queenmaker or kingmaker in 2027. That seems possible, but I can think of nothing more destructive for the Democratic Party in Marion County in 2027 than a run by Joe Hogsett.
For these reasons, please, say it ain't so Joe.
