OTTAWA COUNTY — In the wake of a lawsuit alleging he was fired from Ottawa County's MSU Extension due to political pressure, recordings of conversations between now-Commissioner Chris Kleinjans and his former supervisors have been made public.
While meant to support his claims, some comments made by Kleinjans in the recordings have landed him in hot water with constituents.
Kleinjans, a Democrat who won a District 2 recall election earlier this year and took office May 28, told The Sentinel he knew some of his comments may draw criticism, but decided to provided the unedited audio in the name of transparency.
“I’m running on transparency in government, so to do anything different would be really out of character,” he said. “I knew exactly what part would cause people to go ‘huh.’ But the intention of being transparent was more important.”
In one recording, Kleinjans discusses with Erin Moore — associate director of the MSU Extension's Health and Nutrition Institute and one of three plaintiffs named in Kleinjans’ lawsuit — delays with the Ottawa County Board approving a contract with the extension and his plans to run in the recall election.
Kleinjans identified other potential candidates as Larry Jackson and Joe Spaulding. Jackson is now chair of the Ottawa County Democratic Party and previously ran for a state house seat in 2022, losing to Republican Nancy DeBoer. Spaulding ran for the Ottawa County Board in 2022, losing to Lucy Ebel — the recalled commissioner whom Kleinjans defeated in May.
Kleinjans explained to Moore why he was best positioned to win, should the as-of-then unscheduled election take place.
“Neither one of those candidates are good. Both have baggage. Both have a reputation, we’ll call it,” Kleinjans said in the recording. “By a lot of factors both genetic and historical, I sit better as a candidate out of that pool of three.”
Kleinjans told The Sentinel that Jackson and Spaulding were known entities and the recall effort was better served by a “relative unknown” to appeal to a middle. He added he would have worked to help get either elected.
Kleinjans added there’s “no animosity” from the recording.
“We all worked on that (recall) effort together,” Kleinjans said. “We still communicate and work together. Not because we have to, but because I enjoy and need some of Joe’s insights and I really require some of Larry’s insights.
“This is all very new to me and they have been an amazing fountain of information and help and support as this thing continues to move forward.”
Jackson agreed there’s no strife in the party. He said he has “no concerns” with the comments, although they may be “misconstrued by some folks.” Jackson added the points Kleinjans was trying to get across were ones discussed at the party level.
“All of the stuff he talked about is stuff that we vetted out as a team before any of that happened,” Jackson said. “I don’t hear anything in there that would cause any pause from me. And I know Chris, I know his heart, I know what we talk about. I helped on the recall team, so I’ve gotten to know Chris over the last year and a half. Chris has no ill will.”
Spaulding did not respond to a request for comment from The Sentinel.
Later in the same recording, Moore asked Kleinjans to keep his plans to run quiet until the extension’s funding was officially approved. She also said: "If this were any other county, any other part of the state where it was just, you know, a little less contentious, this would not be, we wouldn’t be talking about us being defunded because of your interaction with politics.”
Kleinjans replied by saying he was only running for that reason. He said “a certain type of candidate” needed to run in order for the party to win the election.
“Again, to make this happen, a certain type of candidate needs to be there. Out of the available talent pool, I’m the one,” Kleinjans says. “I mean, I’m older, I’m white, I’m a guy, my family’s been in this area since 1848, I’m a veteran.
“I check off so many right-wing boxes that I shouldn’t be a Democrat. And that’s the whole point.”
Kleinjans later told The Sentinel his point was worded “indelicately” and “very poorly,” but reflected “an unfortunate reality in Ottawa County” of people with his demographics holding many of the elected seats.
“It’s reflective of the reality we have to deal with in Ottawa County and it’s reflective of a reality that we’re trying to change,” Kleinjans said.
Kleinjans added he’d “like nothing more” than to see more diverse representation locally and that he’ll work to achieve that goal.
“I stand on the party platform, which is equity for all,” Kleinjans said. “Most of the statements I’ve made and the actions I’ve taken both in my professional life, my private life and my political life have been devoted to that end.”
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Kleinjans added, at the time the comments were made, Moore had just told him his coworkers could lose their jobs because of his political involvement.
“Coming out of that, emotionally, obviously affected my word choice,” he said. “I’ve listened to that more than a few times and gone ‘yeah…’
“It was a very emotionally harrowing conversation on a couple of different points. So, syntax and how the thoughts came out of my brain would have come better if it was a little bit more of a, not mature conversation, but a little more calm conversation.”
Kleinjans is running for a four-year term on the Ottawa County Board in November. He will face either Ebel or Jordan Jorritsma.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
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