Saginaw residents urge resignation of Councilwoman Monique LaMar Silva; council directs staff to prepare vacancy resolution

Dozens of residents asked the Saginaw City Council on Aug. 11 to seek the resignation of Councilwoman Monique LaMar Silva amid public allegations about criminal convictions, and the council voted to direct staff to prepare a resolution that would declare her seat vacant under the city charter if the legal requirements are met. Jody Becker, a resident who addressed the council during public input, said she could not understand why Silva remained on the council “after being convicted of 3 felonies for election fraud,” and urged other council members to ask for Silva’s resignation. Laurie Patterson, another speaker, said “silence in the face of wrongdoing is not leadership” and urged council members to defend the public’s trust.

The council did not itself remove Silva. Mayor Brenda F. Moore moved that city staff prepare a resolution declaring the vacancy of the council position “effectively upon Miss LaMar Silva’s” status under Charter Section 92 for consideration at the council’s next meeting. Council members voted in favor of instructing staff to prepare the draft resolution by voice vote. In remarks explaining the action, council members emphasized that the council’s role is limited while the court process continues: one member said sentencing must be followed by a formal “judgment of conviction” before some legal steps are final, and Councilman Astrach said the charter process will take place on Aug. 27.

Speakers at the meeting raised questions about accountability and the standards expected of elected officials, but the council repeatedly noted that legal procedures and the charter constrain what the body can do immediately. City officials said they were listening to community concerns and would move forward consistent with the charter and with any applicable court determinations. The motion on the floor asked staff to prepare the charter-based resolution for council consideration at its next meeting; the council did not take further disciplinary action at the Aug. 11 meeting.

Background provided during the meeting identified Charter Section 92 as the governing authority for this process; council members described the drafting of a resolution under that charter section as a procedural step to be considered at a subsequent meeting. Public comment on this matter occurred during the allotted public input period; council discussion and the motion to prepare a resolution occurred later in the meeting during miscellaneous business.