At the mayoral candidates forum last night at Coppin State, political hopefuls discussed serious topics, such as taxes and the economy. 

But early in the night, one candidate made a series of seemingly bizarre statements. Baltimore City Circuit Court clerk Frank Conaway, the perennial mayoral candidate, apparently endorsed cronyism, race-baiting and Jim Crow laws all within the span of a few minutes. 

Read City Hall reporter Julie Scharper's article in The Sun here. 

"You can be black on the outside and white on the inside," [Conaway] said. "You want a mayor who is going to think black."In response to a question on education, Conaway said that students received a better schooling during the days of segregation.

"It was a mistake to desegrate schools," he said. "They're segregated now anyway." 

According to Scharper's Twitter feed, Conaway also implied that he wanted to be mayor to institute cronyism: 

"I want to be mayor so people can take me around the city. I want to give big jobs... to people I know."

I can only assume that Conaway is kidding about these statements. Is it possible he really prefers a policy of segregated schools? I sure hope not. 

I've known him for several years and he's an affable guy who does have a penchant for making jokes and provocative statements. In any case, I doubt these statements did him any favors with the Coppin State audience, who could be heard gasping as he talked.