Meet the Democrat running against Lucy Ebel in the May recall election

OTTAWA COUNTY — Democrat Chris Kleinjans is running against Ottawa Impact Republican Lucy Ebel in a special May recall election.

News broke Wednesday, Dec. 6, that Kleinjans has been selected to run as the Democratic candidate in the election scheduled to take place May 7 after the County Clerk's Office formalized the effort Nov. 27.

“I am honored and very happy to accept the Ottawa County Dems’ endorsement as the party’s candidate to run against Commissioner Ebel in the upcoming recall election,” Kleinjans said.

"I’m thrilled the voters of the Second District will have a new opportunity to weigh in on how they want their district represented. I’m excited about the future of both this district and this county.”

Ebel is a member of Ottawa Impact, which currently has a six-member majority on the board. The far-right fundamentalist group was formed in 2021 over frustrations with the county and state over COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Since taking office in January, Ebel and other Ottawa Impact-linked commissioners have pushed through a series of controversial decisions, resulting in several lawsuits against the county. The recall petition was filed in July and the process took more than five months.

More: Ottawa Impact Commissioner Lucy Ebel to face special recall election in May

Last week, the clerk's office said recall petitioners collected 2,575 valid signatures, exceeding the 2,481 threshold to trigger a recall election; recalls in Michigan may only take place in May and November.

Ebel, 66, will automatically be listed as the Republican candidate for the election. She has never responded to The Sentinel's requests for comment.

Kleinjans, 55, is a 1986 graduate of Holland High School and a U.S. Navy veteran. He claims deep roots in the Holland area as a descendant of the settlers of Zeeland.

"I am from Holland, born and raised on the south side, went to Holland High School," he told The Sentinel.

After returning home and marrying his wife, Sarah, Kleinjans earned degrees in youth services from Grand Rapids Community College, history and education from Grand Valley State University and a master's in public administration from GVSU. The couple has lived in District 2, which includes parts of Park Township and Holland Township, for nearly 30 years. They have two boys — Benjamin, 28, and Jackson, 25.

Kleinjans has a 25-year history working in the nonprofit sector, including the development of educational programming for the Holland Historical Trust and time spent as a community nutrition instructor.

He said he's lived the majority of his life working in service to others, which is a labor of love.

"All work is important, but this work really matters, because you can't quantify it," he said. "Nonprofits don't do the things they do because there might be money in it — you're looking for a completely different set of outcomes. So it's an important part of the public, and it's an important part of society."

Kleinjans also serves as a volunteer with the Ottawa County Community Emergency Response Team and as a member of the board of Community Mental Health of Ottawa County and the Advisory Board of Ottawa Food. He is a member of the American Legion and VFW.

He said he became concerned about his local community when "things started getting stranger in the body politic nationally," combined with a toxicity he saw on social media platforms.

"And then, I think things just got so toxic. The previous presidential administration — there was just no chill. And now I have members of my family where we don't see eye to eye on these things. And we would go long stretches of time without talking to each other and that doesn't solve anything; it doesn't get you any more closer to the solution."

He said he became increasingly worried as national issues trickled down to the local level.

"It's right here," Kleinjans said, adding he feels he has a good understanding of the people of District 2.

There are certain things, he said, that are getting lost in the ongoing county controversy.

"For instance, our traffic — two-thirds of the county goes through our district every day. It's the transient district," Kleinjans said. "We have West Ottawa Public Schools. We're a big school system, and there are children everywhere. I would like a traffic assessment. I don't believe we've had one of those done since 1980. It would be nice ... to look at how we're going to adapt to make my district streets safer for our people."

He said he'd also like to work with local municipalities to install multi-use paths on streets like James and Beeline.

"To get across some of these streets, you've got to walk practically half a mile on the grass," he said. "These are systemic things that we could be working on. But instead we're having two-month-long meetings that don't go anywhere and it infuriates me, and it's all I've ever done my entire career is work to help other people get to either a better place or become more informed."

"I would just like a return to good governance," he said, referencing the current Ottawa Impact majority. "Governance that is tolerant and respectful of the people that are being governed, as well as being an effective fiduciary of our resources."

He said it's no fluke that Ottawa County has a solid reputation for responsible growth.

"We've been blessed through resources, good management, good administrations and good boards of commission," he said. "We've been blessed with a nice, long, slow, consistent, quality improvement. As far as quality of life and being the fastest-growing county, all that other stuff ... that's not a fluke. No, it comes from good governance and solid policy."

Kleinjans said, no matter what, he's dedicated to continue serving his community.

"I want everybody that lives in the Second District to know that, even if you're doing great, I want your kids to do better. I want to just see things move forward — for everybody. That's what brought my people here. I mean, that's what brought my family here. That's what brought a lot of people's families here."

The winner of the recall election will serve out the remainder of Ebel's two-year term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2024. If either candidate wants to serve further, they'll need to file paperwork with the clerk's office by April 24 to run in the November election. All county commission terms in Michigan will convert from two to four years in that cycle.

To learn more about Kleinjans, visit kleinjansforcountycommissioner.com.

— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Meet the Democrat running against Lucy Ebel in the May recall election