Ottawa County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to pay Chris Kleinjans $112,500, settling the lawsuit he brought against Commissioner Joe Moss and three Michigan State University Extension service supervisors.
Kleinjans was an MSU Extension community nutrition instructor before he was terminated in June 2024. That termination came after he won a recall election to fill Ottawa County’s vacant second district commission seat.
Kleinjans filed a federal lawsuit, claiming he lost his job over “political pressure,” accusing then Board Chair Joe Moss of meeting with MSU Extension staff to discuss Kleinjans and his job. That meeting allegedly happened the day after Kleinjans announced he would run against then District 2 Commissioner Lucy Ebel. Both Ebel and Moss are members of the conservative political group Ottawa Impact. Kleinjans is a Democrat.
This is one of several lawsuits commissioners have settled this year due to controversial actions taken by the board in 2023 and 2024. During that time, the majority of the board was controlled by Ottawa Impact members.
In November 2024, Kleinjans ran to keep his commission seat but lost to Republican Jordan Jorritsma.
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