David J. Swarts (born March 13, 1947) was the Commissioner of the

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYSDMV or DMV) is the department of the New York state government responsible for vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, driver's licenses, learner’s permits, photo ID cards, and adjudicat ...

, in the Cabinet of Gov.

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...

. He was appointed to this position by former Gov.

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was b ...

on Dec. 21, 2006 and took office on Jan. 1, 2007, when the Spitzer Administration took office. He continued in the Paterson Administration after Gov. Spitzer resigned from office amid a

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

on March 17, 2008. On January 13, 2011, th
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Society Inc.
announced that Swarts will serve as the new president/chief executive officer. He will be responsible for administering and overseeing daily operations. In addition, he will implement the newly created Strategic Plan. His annual salary is $89,000 in this role. Swarts is a former County Clerk of

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Erie w ...

, a position he held for 20 years. He was first elected County Clerk in 1986. He was the unsuccessful Democratic Nominee for Erie County Executive in 1983 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Erie County Executive in 1995. In 1988, he unsuccessfully ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. As County Clerk, he was in charge of receiving court filings, recording and preserving land transactions, issuing passports, overseeing the distribution of various permits and serving as the county's motor vehicles agent. In his as the county's motor vehicles agent, Swarts administered all DMV activities in Erie County on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles. While County Clerk, Swarts focused a lot of attention on the ending of tolls on highways surrounding

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. In September 2007, Swarts and Gov. Spitzer developed a plan to issue

driver's licenses A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

to illegal immigrants. The plan was the subject of much debate on the state and national level, and was ultimately scrapped.

External links

Statement from DMV Commissioner David Swarts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swarts, David Living people Politicians from Buffalo, New York Eliot Spitzer State cabinet secretaries of New York (state) 1947 births