City Council candidate says she wants to keep 'Marysville a white community'

MARYSVILLE, Mich. – One of the candidates in a Marysville race for City Council is being very open about her views on race.

Marysville has a population of about 10,000, and many say it's a welcoming city. But Jean Cramer, 68, who is running for City Council, wants to keep Marysville white.

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"My suggestion is to keep Marysville white and keep foreign-born out," Cramer said during a forum Thursday night.

Other candidates strongly disagreed with her.

On Friday, Cramer wanted to clarify her statement.

"Mixed marriage, that's what's wrong," she said. "I have no problem with black people."

"We've been living here long enough to know that we like white people," Cramer said.

Many in the community said they view her words as racist.

Joe Hill said he doesn't believe her comments reflect the views of most people in Marysville.

Watch the video above for a full report from Local 4 News at 6.


About the Authors:

Priya joined WDIV-Local 4 in 2013 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Education: B.A. in Communications/Post Grad in Advanced Journalism

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.