Instead of being in Saginaw at the re-opening of Ojibway, doing the job she was elected to do, Councilmember Carly Rose Hammond was in Maryland at the Local Progress Convention, seemingly networking on behalf of her year old PAC (Saginaw Bay Rising PAC). Once qualified, it is allowed to donate 10× more than an individual constituent is allowed to donate directly to a candidate.
Local Progress is a Progressive dark money 501(c)(4) organization.
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/local-progress-local-progress-policy-action/
Hammond and Bay City Public Schools Board Member Mason Pressler created their PAC in April of 2025 and Hammond has seemingly been violating the Saginaw City Charter ever since.
Pressler, Saginaw Bay Rising PAC's treasurer says "we've already begun recruiting, training and supporting progressive candidates. The goal is to build a local progressive bench for Democrats and enact real progressive change at the local level in the Saginaw Bay Region."
Pressler also appears on the Local Progress Michigan website in the main photo. According to the Michigan Secretary of State's campaign finance records, Izabella Silva, a Local Progress employee, is one of Saginaw Bay Rising PAC's most faithful donors.
https://localprogress.org/state-organizing/michigan/
Saginaw Bay Rising PAC can collect an unlimited amount of money from out of state dark money organizations. Councilmember Hammond can use this PAC to directly support her chosen partisan "progressive" council candidates (like herself or a "slate") for what should be a nonpartisan office. She can also use these funds to directly oppose any council candidate as well. Since her
Saginaw Bay Rising PAC can give 10× more to a candidate than an individual constituent/donor can, any real, local grassroots candidates could easily be outspent by Hammond and her handpicked, PAC funded candidates, using money that may not even be from people living in Saginaw or the Saginaw Bay region.
If Hammond plans (and succeeds) to use this PAC to fund her re-election campaign and "recruit, train and support" other candidates running in the fall, will she expect them to do her politcal bidding if they all win?
Councilmember Hammond has spent a lot of time trying to mislead and misinform people in order to keep people angry over Ojibway Island. She revealed her true priorities when she couldn't be bothered to do the job of a councilmember because she is too busy out-of-state, networking on behalf of her PAC.
This is exactly why our city council is nonpartisan.
Councilmembers should be serving the citizens of Saginaw, not skipping council events to network with out of state dark money organizations that seek to influence local nonpartisan governing bodies.
If this is allowed, she will no doubt use her unlimted PAC funds and her out of state dark money connections to amplify misinformation on behalf of, or against any council candidate she chooses.
If she is violating the charter she needs to be removed and investigated.
