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.”
