OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County's newly elected commissioner is on the job. Chris Kleinjans defeated Lucy Ebel, a member of Ottawa Impact, in a recall election earlier this month and took his oath of office Tuesday evening.
"The recall was a stop that everything has been part of a continuum to sort of get the county back to the type of governance that it was used to in the past," said Commissioner Kleinjans.
On Tuesday, Kleinjans was sworn in after beating former commissioner Lucy Ebel with 60% of the vote in a special recall election held on May 7. Ebel is backed by the conservative political action committee, Ottawa Impact.
"We've upped our democratic ratio by 100%, which is noble, it's good to have more voices in the mix. You know, this, this democracy and Republic thrive on discourse, from a variety of different points, county government's no different, the more people that can come to the come to the table and discuss, the better it is, the better results you get," said Kleinjans.
Kleinjans is now one of only two Democrats on the board. His swearing in was followed by the regular Ottawa County Commission meeting. Commissioner Roger Bergman walked out during public comment, as many used their time to endorse candidates running for office in the upcoming election.
Kleinjans said he does intend on running for the District 2 seat again after he completes his current term at the end of this year.
"I have a long and varied experience inside the county, I've lived in my district for almost 30 years, I feel like I have I've seen enough about how, where we've come from, to know where I'd like to see us go," said Kleinjans.
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