We join what we believe are literally millions of people who were absolutely appalled by comments made last week by a downstate city council candidate during a forum attended by local residents and media.

Jean Cramer, who is running for a seat on the Marysville City Council, was asked if the city should do more to attract foreign-born residents.

It wasn’t an unreasonable question, given the times we live in.

Cramer pulled no punches in her answer.

“Keep Marysville a white community as much as possible. White. Seriously. In other words, no foreign-born, no foreign people. … As far as I know, as long as we’ve been here, Marysville has been a white community, a white city. If we have seen a black person here and there, whatever, we’re not bothered by it. I’m not bothered by it.”

The local newspaper later asked Cramer if she wanted to clarify her remarks, according to a story from The Detroit News.

“Husband and wife need to be the same race. Same thing with kids. That’s how it’s been from the beginning of, how can I say, when God created the heaven and the Earth. He created Adam and Eve at the same time. But as far as me being against blacks, no I’m not.”

The mayor and other local officials have called upon to end her campaign, something the candidate says she has no plans to do.

This is the kind of thing one would expect from the deep south where they are still celebrating the Confederacy and Bobby E. Lee, not in Michigan.

But here you have it. There probably isn’t anything that can be done legally to keep her out of the race. It’s going to be interesting to see who gets on the Marysville City Council.