‘No shortage of challenges.’ The North Carolina DMV has a new leader
A former state lawmaker who owns a local insurance agency in Eastern North Carolina will become the next leader of the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The N.C. Department of Transportation and Gov. Josh Stein have chosen Paul Tine as DMV commissioner. Tine, 53, owns Midgett Insurance Agency in Dare County and represented Dare, Hyde, Washington and part of Beaufort counties in the state House for two terms, ending in 2016.
“As a long-time business owner and a former member of the General Assembly, Paul knows how to get things done and move at the speed of business,” Stein said in a written statement. “He is the right person for this job, and I have charged him with urgently identifying ways to make the DMV work better for North Carolinians.”
Tine was twice elected to the House as a Democrat, before leaving the party in 2015 and joining the Republican House Caucus as an unaffiliated legislator. He served as co-chair of the House Transportation Appropriations Committee and as a member of the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee.
Tine replaces Wayne Goodwin, a former Democratic lawmaker who served two four-year terms as insurance commissioner, an elected office, before losing to Mike Causey in 2016.
Goodwin also spent four years as chairman of the Democratic Party and was openly criticized by Republican lawmakers during his three years as DMV commissioner. While he argued the agency was understaffed, Republican lawmakers blamed mismanagement for the long lines and wait times at driver’s license offices.
Tine acknowledged that he has been charged with running a beleaguered agency.
“There is no shortage of challenges facing our division,” he said in a written statement. “It is critical that we get to work quickly to reduce wait times, make our website more user friendly, and empower our frontline staff to ensure the highest level of service to our citizens.”
Tines begins his new job on May 6.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 10:14 AM with the headline "‘No shortage of challenges.’ The North Carolina DMV has a new leader."
