Daniels names new commissioner of BMV

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels said Friday that former Galyan's president and chief executive officer Joel Silverman will become commissioner of the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles after Daniels takes office Jan. 10.\nDaniels also said Michael "Mickey" Maurer, chairman of the National Bank of Indianapolis, will become president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., a group that will help steer Indiana's job creation efforts.\nDaniels said the appointments, along with those previously announced, show that "we are not going to tinker around the edges of changing state government."\n"I'm so proud to announce that two people of proven business leadership and accomplishment will each for the first time undertake public service on behalf of the citizens of Indiana," Daniels said at a news conference at his transition office.\nDaniels said Silverman has had a "fabulous career" in retail business, and helped build and take public Galyan's Trading Co., a sporting goods chain that was recently purchased by Dicks Sporting Good Inc. Silverman was Galyan's president and chief executive officer from 1997 to 2002.\nSilverman said he never expected to work in government, but Daniels' business approach to reform was impossible to resist. He said he hoped to bring the customer-friendly approach that Galyan's had to the BMV, an agency that has been criticized by some for years for poor service.\nThe agency also has faced numerous problems in recent years and months, including criminal charges being filed in a scam that allegedly helped Chinese nationals illegally obtain driver's licenses and identification cards.\nDaniels has pledged to seek numerous reforms at the BMV, including lengthier license renewal periods and having auto dealers conduct some transactions.\nDaniels said Maurer had built and led businesses of various types with great distinction and "total integrity," and would be a principal partner with Fort Wayne businesswoman Patricia Miller in leading economic development and job creation efforts in his administration.\nHe said Maurer, who also is chairman of Indianapolis Business Journal Corp., was a pioneer in the initial development and operations of cable television systems in the early 1970s.\nHe was a practicing attorney in Indianapolis for 20 years, founded the National Bank of Indianapolis in 1993, and is president and chief executive officer of a film production company.\n"I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I think there's a lot we can do," Maurer said.