When will Chris Kleinjans be sworn in as District 2 commissioner?

Mitchell Boatman, Holland Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read

OTTAWA COUNTY — Following a successful recall effort against a sitting Ottawa County commissioner, community members are wondering when Chris Kleinjans will take his seat at the table.

Kleinjans, a Democrat, defeated Ottawa Impact Republican Lucy Ebel in a special recall election in District 2 of the Ottawa County Board. Kleinjans defeated Ebel by 20 percentage points, based on preliminary vote totals from Tuesday, May 7.

Chris Kleinjans
Chris Kleinjans

Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck released a statement on when the winning candidate will take office, saying his office has received several questions on the matter. In the statement, Roebuck explained the election results must first be certified.

“Michigan election law allows for a candidate to assume office following the certification of election results,” he wrote. “We anticipate our canvass of votes to be completed Wednesday, May 15, following statutory requirement to allow any outstanding military and overseas ballots to be received by the Board of County Canvassers until Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 5 p.m.

“After certification is complete, both candidates will be notified by our office, and the winning candidate may take the oath of office and begin their term of service.”

Because the canvass will be complete after Tuesday, May 14, Kleinjans will not be seated for that day's meeting. Per state election law, Ebel will continue in her role until the results are officially certified.

Kleinjans will instead begin his service Tuesday, May 28. He will be the second Democrat on the board, joining District 3’s Doug Zylstra. It will be the first time the board has had two Democrats.

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Ottawa Impact-affiliated commissioners will still hold a majority on the 11-member board through the end of the current term, with Chair Joe Moss, Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea and Commissioners Gretchen Cosby, Kendra Wenzel, Roger Belknap and Allison Miedema.

Each is seeking re-election this year and will face primary challengers in August. Ebel has also filed to run in the August primary.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: When will Chris Kleinjans be sworn in as District 2 commissioner?