Ottawa County approves $112,500 payout in former commissioner lawsuit – WGHN

Ottawa County, MI (WGHN) – Ottawa County commissioners have agreed to pay $112,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former county commissioner who claimed he was fired from his job because of political pressure.
Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday, Dec. 18, to resolve the lawsuit brought by Chris Kleinjans against former board chair Joe Moss and three supervisors with Michigan State University Extension.
Kleinjans, a Democrat, was employed as an MSU Extension community nutrition instructor until his termination in June 2024. His firing came shortly after he won a special recall election to fill the District 2 seat on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.
He later filed a federal lawsuit alleging his job was eliminated due to political retaliation tied to his election victory.
The lawsuit claimed Moss met with MSU Extension officials in November 2023 to discuss Kleinjans’ employment one day after Kleinjans announced he would run against then–District 2 Commissioner Lucy Ebel. According to the complaint, Moss suggested moving Kleinjans to a different position or location and raised concerns that his job posed a conflict of interest with his duties as a county commissioner.
At the time, Moss was co-founder of the conservative political group Ottawa Impact, which held a majority on the county board until January 2025.
In an earlier ruling on whether Kleinjans should be reinstated while the case proceeded, a federal judge wrote it was “undisputed that the OI majority sought political retribution against Kleinjans.”
Kleinjans ran to retain his District 2 seat in the November 2024 election but was defeated by Republican Jordan Jorritsma.
Ottawa County Administrator Patrick Waterman gave an update on the Deputy Administrator search:
The settlement is one of several lawsuits Ottawa County commissioners have resolved in 2025 stemming from actions taken by the board in 2023 and 2024. Whether Klienjans will accept the offer is still to be determined.
 
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