Shaking my head over handling of leadership vote after sexual harassment expose

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, reads a statement on Organization Day 2024. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Explain it to me like I’m five. How do you reinstall a senator accused of sexual harassment against three different women to a leadership post?

Because that’s exactly what some members of the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus did on Monday, hours after the accusations went public.

And to make matters worse, the caucus followed it up with a confusing statement supporting women and promising to create a an accountable environment. But members didn’t even hold their own leader accountable.

It makes no sense.

It all started Monday morning, when the Indianapolis Star broke the story of the allegations against Indianapolis Democrat Sen. Greg Taylor. Rumors were flying earlier, however, as word got out that Star reporters were calling other sources for comment. Many in the political sphere knew an article would be dropping soon.

So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The bigger surprise to me was that Taylor didn’t deny the charges.

His full statement says: “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.”

That, to me, makes a huge difference in what happened next.

He wasn’t refuting the allegations and claiming innocence — at least not publicly. So why would six members of the 10-person caucus support him to continue leading the group?

The vote

We know who they are because the four members who voted against Taylor came out and explained why they preferred a new leader: Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington; Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis; Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis; and Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton.

Despite that, Hunley and Pol won leadership positions under Taylor.

“We will help move our caucus towards a future where this type of abhorrent behavior is not minimized or condoned,” they said, in a joint statement about why they joined.

You know who didn’t put out a statement explaining their support? The six whose ‘yes’ votes were required to keep Taylor in charge: Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis; Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend; Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; and two new members, Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, and Sen. Mark Spencer, D-Gary.

I reached out to several of those senators to try to understand their reasoning but got no responses.

Even the Indiana Democratic Party distanced itself from the caucus election results in a statement.

“We have taken a number of steps to address sexual harassment at the Indiana Democratic Party during my time as chair and we will be sharing more of that information with our state central committee at our next meeting,” Chair Mike Schmuhl said, in response to a letter from 40 Democrat women. “I think it’s also important to note that IDP is a separate employer from a political campaign, city government, or state government. That being said, our values are vital and I will work with these leaders and all stakeholders to build more trust within the party for the future.”

The rise in reports

The number of similar stories has grown at an alarming pace in recent years as more women feel comfortable with coming forward.

Indeed, some of these allegations against Taylor are years old but that doesn’t make them less important or serious.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration mishandled similar allegations involving a top aide, the Star and Mirror Indy reported. And in an opinion column, the Star revealed evidence that Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, harassed a young, female former employee: at the office, in voicemails, over texts, even showing up to her home. His company settled with the former employee for $8,000, according to the Star.

Rumors abounded last year about a House Republican member too but the victim declined to speak.

GOP Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales in 2022 faced decade-old allegations of sexual assaults in interview transcripts published by political columnist Abdul-Hakim Shabazz.

The Indiana Supreme Court suspended former Republican Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s law license for 30 days in 2020 after finding he committed criminal battery when he groped four women, including a legislator, during a party at an Indianapolis bar in 2018.

There is no excuse for what the caucus chose. And to follow the vote up with a statement calling for reform and supporting women is ridiculous.

Members showed there are no consequences for actions. And that speaks louder than a lame statement.

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