Motor voter mistakes no reason to fire MVA head

Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate enough to work with many talented Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration administrators who made it a priority to actively engage with the trade associations representing businesses the agency licenses and regulates. While the transparency, cooperation and forward thinking attributes of current MVA Administrator Christine Nizer are on par or far exceed some predecessors, she is balancing her role admirably while engaging in a significant computer system modernization process her immediate predecessors did not have to undertake.

Ms. Nizer is not a political figure. She was a dedicated member of the MVA leadership team for many years before ascending to administrator, a role she rightfully deserves. Ms. Nizer is respected on the national level as well. She is Region 1 President of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and is poised to assume greater leadership roles within that organization. Ms. Nizer was also instrumental in procuring a federal grant that enables the MVA to remind drivers about open vehicle recalls. Maryland is the only state in the country to receive such a grant and the open recalls in our fleet of vehicles are dropping significantly.

The MVA computer system modernization project Ms. Nizer is presiding over is not to be taken lightly. This modernization effort has nothing to do with the voter registration error (“Maryland elections board says another 7,200 voters’ information wasn’t passed on by MVA,” June 28). The MVA computer infrastructure has been severely outdated for decades which has resulted in many inefficiencies in the vehicle titling process. The vehicle sale transaction will become much more timely and secure once the modernization project is complete. An experienced and wellrespected administrator such as Ms. Nizer is essential to oversee the project implementation.

While the voter registration error needs to be researched and resolved, it is premature and not right to call for Ms. Nizer’s resignation at this time (“Why the MVA’s voter registration screw-up matters,” June 26). She is an asset to the MVA, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the state. The 300 dealers my association represents wholeheartedly endorse Ms. Nizer as administrator.