GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Newly-elected Ottawa County Commissioner Chris Kleinjans, who won a special election to take the seat of former District 2 Commissioner Lucy Ebel, is now claiming he was terminated from his position as a Community Nutrition Instructor with the Health & Nutrition Institute at Michigan State University Extension.
"MSU Extension ended my employment because it advised me that it did not believe I could continue working effectively with partners such as yourself, while fulfilling the office of Ottawa County Commissioner to which I was recently elected," Kleinjans wrote in a departure letter to colleagues. "This was the sole reason for my termination. There was no job performance issue, personal or professional impropriety, nor any other cause for MSU Extension’s decision."
"I disagree wholeheartedly with MSU Extension’s reasoning and my termination," Kleinjans continued. "I am pursuing legal remedies and seeking to be reinstated to my position."
Those legal remedies now include a request for a litigation hold, brought forward by attorney Sarah Howard.
Howard, who is now representing Kleinjans in this matter, garnered a reputation in Ottawa County last year while representing County Health Officer Adeline Hambley in her fight to keep herself in the post after some commissioners attempted to demote her to an interim basis and later opened a termination hearing into whether she had engaged in misconduct over actions she took relating to the county budget process.
"As MSU Extension knows, Mr. Kleinjans is capable of spotting a potential conflict of interest, and handling any such situations appropriately should they arise," Howard wrote on June 13 in a letter to MSU Extension's Director of Human Resources. "Instead, we believe that the actual reason for this decision is that MSU Extension has bowed to political pressure from current Ottawa County Commissioners aligned with Ottawa Impact and Lucy Ebel, Mr. Kleinjans’ opponent in the recall election."
In the letter, Howard alleged that conversation had taken place between James Kelly and Scott Korpak, the directors for MSU Extension Districts 4 and 7, respectively, and Ottawa County Commissioners Joe Moss and Allison Miedema, who are aligned with the conservative Ottawa Impact group with which Ebel is also affiliated.
According to Howard, Kleinjans, a Democrat, became aware of the alleged conversation after she says Kelly had informed Kleinjans that, according to Howard's account of events, "MSU Extension was concerned about repercussions with its relationship with Ottawa County officials" should Kleinjans run for and be elected to the seat.
"Later, Mr. Kleinjans became aware that Commission Chair Joe Moss and Commissioner Allison Miedema had already met with Mr. Kelly and Scott Korpak, the District 7 director, to apparently allege some type of concern of a conflict of interest if Mr. Kleinjans were to win the recall election against their political ally, then-Commissioner Ebel."
Upon receiving this letter that made the allegations of the conversation between Moss, Miedema and the two Extension leaders, 13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to the two commissioners for comment and whether they could confirm or deny the existence of the alleged conversation.
"This is a matter between Mr. Kleinjans and MSU," Moss said in response. "Ottawa County has worked with MSU for over 100 years and we are excited to continue working with MSU in the years to come."
13 ON YOUR SIDE also reached out to MSU Extension following Kleinjans' initial claims. MSU Extension declined to comment, citing that they cannot comment on personnel issues.