Saginaw council member reelected amid federal investigation

SAGINAW, MI – Saginaw City Council member Monique Lamar-Silvia, who is under federal investigation for allegedly falsifying candidate nomination forms, was reelected in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Lamar-Silvia has received 10.45% of votes cast, earning her enough votes to win one of the city's five open four-year term council seats in an 11-person race.

Lamar-Silvia, 64, began serving on the council after being elected to her seat in the November 2020 election.

Lamar-Silvia ran for reelection despite facing felony charges for allegedly falsifying signatures on the nominating petition forms of Eric Eggleston, who was seeking a council seat.

Related: Saginaw council member under investigation for allegedly falsifying petition signatures

In an email to state election officials, Saginaw City Clerk Kristine Bolzman said that in surveillance footage captured on July 23 outside of Saginaw City Hall, located at 1315 S. Wahington Ave, Lamar-Silvia appeared to be falsifying Eggleston's signatures.

Bolzman also noted in the email that the alleged falsification occurred while Lamar-Silvia accompanied Eggleston outside of Saginaw City Hall as he attempted to gather the six additional signatures he needed to qualify as a candidate.

It was at this time that a city official witnessed Lamar Silvia writing on Eggleston's petition forms, and Eggleston returned to the inside of the building with the signatures he needed just minutes later.

"There are misspellings in the print and signature of the first two names, and it is not clear what first name is signed on the third name but none of the three signatures match the (Qualified Voter File) records," Bolzman's email stated. "I find this to be a violation of (Michigan Election Law, Section 168.544c) and request your thorough review."

Below are the unofficial results of the race for the council's two and four-year term seats. The names of winners are listed in bold.

Saginaw City Council (nonpartisan): partial two-year term

Carly Rose Hammond: 10,637

Reggie Williams (write-in): 1,383

Saginaw City Council (nonpartisan): four-year term

Charles Allen: 4,125

Annie Boensch: 4,249

Eric D. Braddock Sr.: 5,171

George Copeland Jr.: 4,009

Monique Lamar-Silvia: 5,440

Bill Ostash: 5,172

Jacinta JJ Seals: 5,476