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Today, a new Director was sworn in at DPS.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_s ... 072309.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I doubt it will make any difference for those of us waiting.

Thanks for the post generush, and welcome to the forum! Glad to have you join us.

I wonder what caused this changing of the guard? In any event he has come up through the ranks from the LE background, and not some bureaucrat that has spent his career behind a desk.

I wish him well.

generush wrote:Today, a new Director was sworn in at DPS.

does anyone have his direct phone number ?
i'd like to give him a little call to welcome him and wish him luck....
and since i've got him on the phone , i will inquire about my app.

anyone else want me to ask about yours ?

I'm a CHL Instructor. When I went to Austin in June to do the class for instructors, they were telling us about how last month they received over 12,000 applications. The month before that, almost 12,000. The month before that over 10,000. The people in the cube-farm are under big-time stress, and actually have contests about who's pile of applications is higher than who's....I'm serious.

they told me that they're going fast, but THE NUMBER ONE THING KILLING THEM TIME-WISE is fielding all the phone calls about "where is my application."

we all laughed because it's a stupid thing to tell us gun lovers not to call in about the status of our CHL license....but she asked us to convey that to our students. Believe me, they want to get it out fast so they can get that person to stop calling and to get their CHL...that is why they exist afterall.

So, I"m conveying it... Sorry guys.

I know it stinks, but patience is really all we have at this point.

gringogigante wrote:
I know it sucks, but patience is really all we have at this point.

even though i have complained and joked on this forum...
...in reality , i have called only 2 times , but only after waiting over 100 days.

You waited longer than i did! Man, i am so impatient. I'm serious, for my Instructor's license (which is waaaay worse red tape and hurdles then my basic chl) I must have called them ten times at least.

It wasn't until i saw them in the cube-farm working their collective butts off, that I felt for them.

it's really nuts over there.

gringogigante wrote:
it's really nuts over there.

i believe it

BTW , you didn't notice an app. laying around that had "USA1" on it did you ?

Was that your application?!? Crap, I thought that was my placemat....i think i may have thrown it away.

Sorry, dude.

joe817 wrote:Thanks for the post generush, and welcome to the forum! Glad to have you join us.

I wonder what caused this changing of the guard? In any event he has come up through the ranks from the LE background, and not some bureaucrat that has spent his career behind a desk.

I wish him well.

Your definition of comming up through the ranks is much different than mine. From the breif bio it appears to me he was a Trooper for 6 years more than 25 years ago. The rest of his career appears to have been spent in the FBI, and as a pollitical apointee of the Governor. The fact he is not wearing a uniform leads me to the conclusion that he is not even a certified peace officer anymore.

I suspect this will not sit well with the rank and file.

gringogigante wrote:Was that your application?!? Crap, I thought that was my placemat....i think i may have thrown it away.

Sorry, dude.

well that explains why i haven't heard anything

KRM45 wrote: Your definition of comming up through the ranks is much different than mine. From the breif bio it appears to me he was a Trooper for 6 years more than 25 years ago. The rest of his career appears to have been spent in the FBI, and as a pollitical apointee of the Governor. The fact he is not wearing a uniform leads me to the conclusion that he is not even a certified peace officer anymore. I suspect this will not sit well with the rank and file.

Yes I suspect it is very much different than yours. But that's ok, if we agree to disagree.

If you go back and carefully read my comment, I said LE background, which if I'm reading correctly: his career started with DPS(6 years)...THEN he was appointed a Special Agent with the FBI(1983 to 2004 = 21 years). FBI...that qualifies as Law Enforcement, doesn't it? At least it does fit my definition. Since 2004....Director of Texas Homeland Security. 5 years.

So yes, I think I accurately catagorized his experience as in Law Enforcement. And I still wish him well.

It was fairly common knowledge internally for at least the past two years that Steve McGraw was going to be the next DPS Director. He was Gov Perry's preference; Perry appointed new DPS Commissioners and Chairman to reach his intended goal. This "nationwide" search for a new Director was merely a sham and a waste of $1 million.

joe817 wrote:

KRM45 wrote: Your definition of comming up through the ranks is much different than mine. From the breif bio it appears to me he was a Trooper for 6 years more than 25 years ago. The rest of his career appears to have been spent in the FBI, and as a pollitical apointee of the Governor. The fact he is not wearing a uniform leads me to the conclusion that he is not even a certified peace officer anymore. I suspect this will not sit well with the rank and file.

Yes I suspect it is very much different than yours. But that's ok, if we agree to disagree.

If you go back and carefully read my comment, I said LE background, which if I'm reading correctly: his career started with DPS(6 years)...THEN he was appointed a Special Agent with the FBI(1983 to 2004 = 21 years). FBI...that qualifies as Law Enforcement, doesn't it? At least it does fit my definition. Since 2004....Director of Texas Homeland Security. 5 years.

So yes, I think I accurately catagorized his experience as in Law Enforcement. And I still wish him well.

I agree that a career in the FBI is certainly a law enforcement background. The part I was disagreeing with was the "comming up through the ranks" I think the Chicago PD is a good example of a career FBI agent taking over a police department. JW may be a fine administrator, but the rank and file don't like him.

I too wish the new director the best of luck.

the dept. is now on its 3rd director in about 9 or so months, now were are on the replacement of the replacement.

I've been told repeatedly that the phone people do not process anything, it is done by a staff of people who do not answer the phone. they keep hiring new data entry personnel but they're temps who must be trained. (see renewal debacle) They supposedly have a separate staff to answer our pestering calls of why a 45 day process is taking 100 days. I've learned though not to believe anything I'm told on the phone.

forget about the new DPS director, who runs the CHL bureau of the regulatory licensing service?

Valerie Fulmer is the Chief of Administration - the CHL Bureau falls under her command.