The first shots in the battle for Oxford Village Council were fired last week by Erik Dolan against his opponent, Dave Bailey.

During the council comments portion of the Aug. 9 village meeting, Dolan, who was appointed to council back in April, directed some pointed remarks at Bailey as he sat in the audience.

Both men, along with Councilwoman Rose Bejma, are candidates for two, four-year seats on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Bailey was recently one of three local people who won a yard makeover from Joe’s Lawn Care LCC as the result of a contest through Facebook. He received about $1,000 worth of free landscaping services.

But Dolan does not believe it was a simple contest. He expressed his belief that it was politically motivated because Bailey is a council candidate and “in the past,” his property on First St. has been in “a significant state of disrepair” and “has violated numerous aspects of the village code.”

“I suspect that there was a reason that this was done,” Dolan said. “I suspect that we solicited a business to improve . . . the aesthetics of his home, so that he can present as a better council candidate.”

But according to reporter Elise Shire’s story (see right) and the original Facebook post, local politics was not the impetus for this contest.

Joe Highlen, a Lake Orion resident who owns the landscaping business, was simply looking “to give back to the community” by helping people who “may be going through hard times,” so he sought nominations and votes from the public via Facebook.

Dolan went on to criticize the village manager, “and potentially others,” for giving rides to Bailey, who does not have a vehicle, while he was in the process of collecting signatures for his petition to get on the ballot.

“It was explained to me that it was a hot day and we were just doing Mr. Bailey a favor, however, to me, it suggests that we have village employees who are actively involved in the political process, who have wavered from all policy and procedure in order to select an individual that they would like to advance their agenda,” he said. “That’s troubling to me.”

Dolan also accused Bailey of sleeping during meetings.

“I hope, in the future meetings, you will be able to stay awake if you end up on this council because (at) the two meetings I’ve seen you in, you haven’t found that ability yet,” he said. “I’m not sure what kind of a leader you would be (without) the ability to stay awake during a meeting.”

Bailey was not given an opportunity to respond to Dolan’s remarks during the meeting as the two public comment portions that preceded council comments on the agenda had already passed.

Bailey stood silently at the podium, but was not recognized by village President Sue Bossardet as council took a short recess before going into closed session.

The day after the meeting, Bailey stopped by the Leader office and responded to Dolan’s comments.

Bailey said he didn’t learn about the landscaping contest until he was notified he had won a day or two before the yardwork was done on Monday, Aug. 8.

“I had no idea,” he said.

He’s not aware of any possible political motivation, but he is extremely grateful to Joe’s Lawn Care employees for the hard work they did.

“They’re good guys. They do good work,” Bailey said. “And they’re pleasant to talk to. I hope they get some good publicity out of it.”

As for the criticism regarding village employees driving him around to collect petition signatures, Bailey, along with village Clerk Susan Nassar and Manager Joe Young, explained what happened to this reporter.

On the day the petitions were due, which was July 26, Nassar voluntarily drove Bailey to the township hall to turn them in because it was a very hot day, he doesn’t have a vehicle and he’s a senior citizen. Concerned about his health and safety, she didn’t want him walking almost 2 miles.

“I wouldn’t let anybody walk that far. It was so darn hot,” Nassar told this reporter. “It’s a small town. We take care of our own.”

Prior to this, Bailey had already collected what he believed was an adequate number of signatures. He had 31 signatures, but seven were invalidated, according to township Deputy Clerk Susan McCullough, leaving him with 24 signatures, one short of the 25 minimum needed.

Nassar had left the township office, so Bailey said he was picked up by Young, who drove him to Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth’s house, where he secured two signatures to validate his petition. Young then drove him back to the township before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Young confirmed what Bailey said and indicated it was during office hours, but he used his personal time to drive him.

With regard to the accusation that he falls asleep at meetings, Bailey said, “I don’t remember ever falling asleep in a meeting, but (Dolan) might have perceived that I was. I don’t control his perceptions.”

“If a person in the audience appears to be falling asleep, so what? When I have run meetings in the past, as for example, president of council, I’ve had better things to do than to monitor every audience member’s state of alertness,” Bailey noted.

Bailey previously served on village council from 2001-07 and again from 2009-14. He served as village president from March to November 2014.

Despite Dolan’s criticism of him and the fact they’re running against each other, Bailey made it clear he supports Dolan as a council member and a candidate.

“When I became aware of Mr. Dolan’s interest in serving on council and when I learned of Mr. Dolan’s background, I strongly supported his candidacy (for appointment) and I did so publicly,” Bailey said. “I can make these kinds of judgments objectively, and objectively, I still strongly support Mr. Dolan.”

“He is the strongest candidate for council I have ever seen and I have lived in Oxford for 25 years,” he continued. “Strength is not the only qualification for a good member of council. There are many others. As Mr. Dolan gains experience in his governmental role, he will develop those other characteristics. He will learn and he will learn quickly.”

“He’s a stronger candidate than I am,” Bailey added.

In fact, Bailey believes Dolan will one day become village president.

“I’m looking forward to serving under Mr. Dolan as village president,” he said. “He’s going to be village president. Not right away, but eventually, he will be village president. I’ve already made that prophecy and I’m making it again today.”

Bailey noted he also supports himself and his other opponent, Bejma.

“If any combination of two of those three got on the council, I’ll be happy,” he said.