How do you get rid of a guy who has become an embarrassment, especially if the opposition has been calling for his head and you don't want it to look like you're giving in? You accept his resignation and announce it along with a bunch of other position shuffling announced near mid-term.
Joel Silverman, the embattled Bureau of Motor Vehicles commissioner, has resigned. He will leave office effective Oct. 16.Gov. Mitch Daniels made the announcement in a press release today. Ron Stiver, Department of Workforce Development commissioner, will become the new commissioner. Andrew Penca, Workforce Development deputy commissioner for strategic research and development, will replace Stiver.
I didn't have much of a problem with the license branch reorganization -- the closings seemed based on an honest attempt to improve efficiency and had some research to back them up -- though Silverman wasn't the most sensitive public servant in the world in implementing it. The computer-changeover foul-up was pretty much inexcusable, though. Anything that compels the governor to apologize to all Hoosiers can't be anything but a "should have seen it coming" disaster.
