Andres Ayala’s nomination to head DMV turbo-glides through committee

andresNext stop is the final Senate vote for Andres Ayala Jr., the former single-term Bridgeport state senator, who sailed through his meeting with the Executive & Legislative Nominations Committee on Thursday in under 20 minutes. The committee, in an 8-0 vote, then approved his nomination to head the Department of Motor Vehicles and its 775 employees. The job pays $130,000. Ayala said his 10 years of experience as a City Council member and president in Bridgeport, followed by three terms in the state House of Representative have given him crucial leadership experience, combined with a master’s degree in education at Sacred Heart University and 21 years working for city schools. He taught, was a dean of students and a grants coordinator. “I have had the opportunity to manage projects from the planning stage through execution and completion,” he told the committee, comprised of friendly former colleagues including Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. In his interim work as DMV commissioner, Ayala said he has become much more familiar with the roll-out of the so-called drive only licenses for undocumented state residents that starting taking applications in December. There have been 34,000 knowledge tests scheduled, he said, adding that they are booked into the fall. More than 1,700 people have passed the test out of 2,300 test taken so far. Road tests will start in April. Ayala is also saddled with completing the modernization of the agency’s outdated computer system, including the thorny issue of closing DMV offices for a week at a time for IT upgrades. “Without a doubt the Department of Motor Vehicles touches every family in the state of Connecticut,” he told the committee. There are about 2.5 million license holders. The new computer system will allow state residents to be able to do many transactions online, including registration renewal, vanity and replacement license plates and other services.