Councilwoman charged with forging petition signatures
By Ryan Jeltema
Click here for updates on this story
SAGINAW, Michigan (WJRT) — A Saginaw City Councilwoman has been charged with crimes relating to forged signatures on nominating petitions.
Monique Lamar-Silvia faces four charges in all, including three felonies, on an arrest warrant issued by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. The charges include:
Conspiracy. Forgery on election documents. Signing multiple names on a nominating petition. False statements or circulation violations on election petitions.
She faces up to five years in prison and thousands of dollars worth of fines is she is convicted.
Former Saginaw City Council candidate Eric Eggleston, who Lamar-Silvia was trying to help, also is facing two felonies and one misdemeanor charge for his alleged role in the scheme. Neither he nor Lamar-Silvia had been arraigned by Wednesday afternoon.
The investigation into Lamar-Silvia’s actions started over the summer. Eggleston turned in his nominating petitions minutes before the filing deadline, but he was six signatures short of the required 50 to appear on the ballot.
Surveillance video from the Saginaw County Clerk’s Office shows he and Lamar-Silvia trying to obtain enough signatures before the deadline. She was seen on video writing on the petition just outside the county building.
One of the signatures added was for Heidi Wiggins, who won a seat on the council in November. But it’s not clear who added her name and signature on the petition.
The clerk’s office flagged Eggleston’s petitions as potentially fraudulent and he was left off the ballot.
Lamar-Silvia easily won reelection to the council in November while the investigation into the petitions continued. Eggleston was not under investigation for his role in the situation.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
