DOWAGIAC — The two newest members on the Dowagiac City Council say cultivating jobs will be their biggest challenge as they take over two vacated seats on the six-member board.

Junior Oliver and James Dodd were sworn in during Monday’s council meeting.

A small group of council members recommended the two retired men to the full council after interviewing seven other applicants last week who had applied for the dual openings on the council.

"I was really ecstatic," said Oliver, 66, who will represent the 1st Ward.

"I knew I could do the job. I’ve lived in this ward for 40 years and I know many of the people," he said.

Oliver and Dodd, 69, are both newcomers on the council. But Dodd has been nearly a lifetime volunteer firefighter for the city, where he has served for 37 years. He is a lieutenant.

And he has served on the city’s planning commission and board of review.

"I’m very happy," Dodd said about his new city appointment.

The annual pay for the City Council job is about $600, according to City Clerk James Snow.

Dodd and Oliver both said they plan on running for the council seats after their two-year appointments are up.

Dodd retired last year from an Elkhart company, Sundowner Trailers, after the company he had worked for in Dowagiac shut its doors.

Oliver is a retired ergonomics consultant for Sealed Power Co., where he worked at a plant near Dowagiac, which is also no longer there.

Both men are married with grown children.

Ironically, it was the loss of a job that made former 1st Ward council member Darron Murray step down from the seat in November, after he landed a job in Wisconsin.

A month earlier in the 2nd Ward, longtime council member Wayne Comstock retired after 22 years on the council.

In addition to Oliver, three other residents applied for the 1st Ward vacancy, they included Tonnie Blackamore, Howard Hall and Robert Mortimore.

In the 2nd Ward, four other residents applied with Dodd for the vacant seat. They were Jim Benedix, David Daniels, Ron Leatz and Nancy Leonard.

Staff writer Carol Draeger:
cdraeger@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6234