Gov. Stein just handed off the DMV problem to Republicans | Opinion

If you need a DMV appointment in North Carolina, good luck. I checked — not a single slot is available anywhere in the state in the next 90 days.

That failure isn’t new, but it’s now at its most urgent. And in a partisan political climate, the DMV is one of the few things everyone agrees is broken.

Which is what makes Gov. Josh Stein’s new appointment so revealing.

Instead of choosing a bold reformer to lead the Division of Motor Vehicles, Stein picked Paul Tine — a former legislator, small business owner, and, most importantly, someone Republican lawmakers are comfortable with. Elected as a Democrat, Tine later caucused with them as an unaffiliated representative in the House.

With the pick, this doesn’t look like a rescue mission. It looks like a handoff. Stein appears to be signaling that he doesn’t want to own the DMV problem — he’s outsourcing it to the General Assembly and State Auditor Dave Boliek, both of whom are already deeply involved in restructuring the agency.

That may frustrate anyone hoping for a quick transformation. But it might also be the best-case scenario.

Governor outsources risk

North Carolina’s DMV has trailed the country for decades. We didn’t get online license renewals or even debit card payments until the mid-2010s. Since COVID, the cracks have widened. Wait times are out of control, and appointments are nearly impossible to find. A looming REAL ID deadline only raises the stakes.

Boliek, a Republican, campaigned on launching a full audit of the agency, and the General Assembly successfully pressured former NCDMV commissioner Wayne Goodwin to step down.

To replace him, Stein’s administration floated the idea of a bold reset. In an interview, Secretary of Transportation Joey Hopkins said the job required someone who had “led large organizations” and understood “change management.” A Chick-fil-A-style operator — someone who can run complex systems and still move a line — might have fit the bill.

Tine doesn’t fit that mold. His Outer Banks insurance agency has about 15 employees and a hyperlocal footprint. That’s not a knock — just a reality check.

By all accounts, Tine is a thoughtful public servant with a heart for helping people. During his time in the General Assembly, he worked across the aisle and built a reputation for pragmatism.

His insurance agency is locally respected, and he’s stayed engaged in public life even after leaving elected office. He’s not a partisan warrior or a political climber. He’s someone who wants to get things done.

That makes him a reassuring choice in some ways. He’s likely to listen, to build consensus, and to serve with integrity.

In isolation, the pick might seem uninspired. But in context, it’s a strategic choice. Stein isn’t trying to overhaul the DMV himself. He’s choosing someone who can build relationships with Republican lawmakers, and then let them run the show.

Handing off the DMV

Maybe that’s smart. The DMV’s most urgent problems — staffing shortages, failing software, long-delayed upgrades — require legislative funding and executive competence, not just speeches.

In an ideal world, a governor with a clear vision would treat this like a top-tier turnaround job. He’d recruit a high-level operator from the private sector — someone with a track record of overhauling customer experience at scale — and give them the authority and resources to rebuild the agency from the ground up.

But that’s not how this role has ever worked. The DMV commissioner has typically been a bureaucrat or political appointee, handed a mess and left to manage public frustration. It’s a thankless job. Not many top-tier executives are raising their hands.

And Stein isn’t the kind of governor who’s going to shake things up on his own. So instead, he’s taking the path of least resistance: appoint a politically acceptable middleman, let the General Assembly and Boliek drive the process, and hope it’s enough to make progress — or at least shift the blame.

That may not be bold leadership. But given the circumstances, it may be the best he can do.

This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 10:28 AM.