HARTFORD -- After months of problems for the DMV, the man Governor Malloy nominated to fix the agency has a blunder of his own. It turns out, commissioner nominee Michael Bzdrya thought he had a Master's Degree from UConn for the last 20 years, but that's not the case.
Thursday morning, a committee hearing was held at the Legislative Office Building to begin confirming him in the position. Bzdrya was the deputy commissioner before he was nominated to commissioner last week.
"We have one final question that we ask all our nominees," said State Rep. Claire Janowski. "Is there anything in your background that can prove embarrassing to yourself, this body, the members of the general assembly, or the Governor's office?"
"Just in the last few days, um, it came to my attention that I'm actually 2 course short of my Master's Degree. " Bzdrya said. "For the last 20 plus years, I believed that I had my certificate, but in discussions with the university, apparently I'm two courses short. So I am looking to rectify that and get that done A.S.A.P."
He was unanimously confirmed by the committee. Now, it goes to the senate.
Governor Malloy's communications director Devon Puglia issued a statement:
“This an oversight that the acting Commissioner only recently realized, which was immediately disclosed upon discovery. He substantially completed the two-year program – this was an oversight. We absolutely stand by the acting Commissioner."
Since the DMV rolled out its $26 million software in August it's been a bumpy ride. It started with much longer lines, to faulty notices about expired car insurance, and even cities and towns getting the wrong tax bills for cars.