In a forum featuring candidates for the Marysville, Michigan City Council, Jean Cramer very casually stated, “My suggestion, recommendation: keep Marysville a white community as much as possible.” The racist remark immediately caused murmuring among the crowd and some stirring in the seats of the other candidates, but it didn’t stop there. Cramer doubled down on her hateful rhetoric stating that she wanted no “foreign born people” in her community.
The first to respond was Kathy Hayman, the town’s mayor, who was very quick to share how offended she was. She stated that her son-in-law is a black man and that she has biracial grandchildren, but she also acknowledged that there was most likely nothing she could say to change Cramer’s mind. Understandably, Hayman struggled to find the words to respond to the racist comments, but she ultimately concluded that, “We just need to have more kindness". Mike Delsing, another city council candidate, also responded jokingly reminding us that it is 2019 and he thought we covered civil rights many years ago.
The Times Herald caught up with Cramer again after the forum and she again continued spewing out her hateful views. “Husband and wife need to be the same race”, she said, referring to the story of Adam and Eve for back up.
Many were calling for Jean Cramer to drop from the race, including the mayor, and she has complied.
