OTTAWA COUNTY — Just a week after starting his new job, Chris Kleinjans was fired from his old one.
Kleinjans won a seat on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on May 7, defeating Ottawa Impact-backed incumbent Lucy Ebel in a recall election. He took office to represent District 2 on May 28. One week later, on June 4, he was fired from his role with the local MSU Extension.
The county pays the extension for services — $272,720 in the most recent fiscal year. As part of the agreement, Ottawa County also provides office, meeting and programming space.
Kleinjans was a community nutrition instructor for the organization. He says the extension cited the Incompatible Public Offices Act 556 of 1978 for his termination.
“They advised me they did not believe I could continue working effectively with their partners while also fulfilling the office of (commissioner), to which I was recently elected,” Kleinjans wrote in a statement. “This was the sole reason for my termination. There was no job performance issue, no personal or professional impropriety, nor any other cause for (the) MSU Extension’s decision.”
Kleinjans’ attorney, Sarah Riley Howard — who has represented multiple clients in legal action against the Ottawa County Board — doesn’t agree with the extension’s interpretation of the law, or if that’s even the reason for his firing.
In a letter to the extension requesting a litigation hold on documents Howard alleges “political pressure” was the real problem.
“There is no serious argument that Mr. Kleinjans’ employment as a community nutrition instructor for (the) MSU Extension would implicate subordination or supervision between that position and his role as a (commissioner),” the letter, which was published in its entirety by FOX-17, reads.
“We believe the actual reason for this decision is the MSU Extension has bowed to political pressure from current Ottawa County commissioners aligned with Ottawa Impact and Lucy Ebel.”
The letter references alleged conversations between extension staff and commissioners Joe Moss and Allison Miedema before the recall election. Moss is the co-founder of Ottawa Impact and current board president. The letter says staff admitted after the meeting to being “concerned about repercussions” should Kleinjans win.
Ottawa Impact, a Republican group that formed in 2021, won a majority on the board in the 2022 election cycle and quickly instituted sweeping changes. Miedema is also a member of OI.
At the end of her letter, Howard seeks Kleinjans’ reinstatement to his position. She said, at this time, they are not seeking economic damages, non-economic damages or attorney fees.
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Kleinjans won the recall election by 20 percentage points, earning 60% of the vote. He and Ebel are both running for a full four-year term on the board this fall.
Kleinjans is unopposed in the Democratic primary in August. Ebel will face Jordan Jorritsma for the opportunity to advance to the November general election.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].
