State shake-up seen as new attitude;
BYLINE: THEODORE KIM THEODORE.KIM@INDYSTAR.COM
Some lawmakers and political observers say Gov. Mitch Daniels' leadership changes this week represent a push to fine-tune, perhaps even dial down, his administration's ambitions for reform.
"To see this many changes at one time seems to be an indication that the administration wants to reorient itself," said Robert Dion, a political scientist at the University of Evansville. "This is Daniels telling the state: 'I got the message.' "
The Republican governor on Wednesday announced changes at six key positions, including the head of the troubled Bureau of Motor Vehicles, his chief of staff, the state Department of Labor chief and three economic development posts.
Daniels described the changes as the natural succession of some of his top aides. His new BMV chief Ron Stiver declined an interview request Thursday on what direction he might take the agency, and Daniels' new Chief of Staff Earl Goode was out of the country and unavailable for comment.
Outside the administration, however, some viewed the changes as an acknowledgement that the governor had done too much too quickly, without enough debate on his pledge to shake up state government.
Those initiatives included revamping multiple agencies, moving the state to daylight-saving time and pushing for a first-of-its-kind, controversial lease of the Indiana Toll Road.
How the staff changes Daniels made this week might affect the average Hoosier is unclear.
Some lawmakers, for example, predict a fresh BMV overhaul. But the goal, they expect, will be to solve problems that already exist, not to push radical new initiatives.
The agency has struggled to maintain the public's confidence after several missteps under chief Joel Silverman, who will leave Oct. 16. The biggest was a bungled computer upgrade in July that led to various record-keeping and customer service problems.
"Reform begins on October 17th," House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Thursday.
In contrast, economic development appears to be an area where Daniels has sought stability. While Democrats and Republicans have sparred over the health of Indiana's economy under the administration, lawmakers from both parties have credited Daniels with drawing new jobs to the state.
Michael "Mickey" Maurer, secretary of commerce and president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., and Harry Gonso, Daniels' chief of staff, will be replaced by their top deputies: Nathan Feltman and Goode, respectively.
Maurer and Gonso are political insiders who had planned to serve only two years.
The governor, in fact, appointed only one person in the shake-up who was not already part of his administration: Greenwood attorney Lori Torres, who is replacing Labor Commissioner Miguel Rivera.
"We knew there would come a point in time when there would be changes," Gonso said Thursday.
While administration officials said Silverman also was planning to serve for only two years, many lawmakers and observers put his resignation in a different category: crisis management.
"Silverman has achieved the impossible: He made the Bureau of Motor Vehicles more unpopular than it already was," Dion said.
The department's biggest challenges: improving customer service and either fixing or jettisoning its problematic computer system, which was bought by the previous regime but launched under Silverman.
His replacement Stiver, commissioner of work-force development, is considered by some a rising star within the administration.
"He's quietly effective," said state Rep. Michael B. Murphy, R-Indianapolis. "You're never going to pick him out of a room, but he's very effective as an administrator."
But state Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, has concerns. Last summer's delays in unemployment benefits, she said, were a "disgrace for this administration."
At the time, Stiver said the delays were driven, in large part, by an agency reorganization.
Simpson suggested that Stiver boost pay, resources and training for those BMV employees who deal with customers on the front lines at license branches.
"Let's just say, I hope Mr. Stiver runs the BMV better than he ran the unemployment program," Simpson said.
Donna Johns, a 46-year-old Mooresville resident who worked at the BMV for two years, is ready for change at the agency, as well.
She said she was once counted among the top customer service representatives in her area. But she was fired last month after sparring constantly with her bosses, who she said were hired under Silverman.
"It's dysfunctional," Johns said of the agency. "I feel like they need to start from scratch."
Call Star reporter Theodore Kim at (317) 444-2770.