
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994                    TAG: 9406150460 
SECTION: FRONT                     PAGE: A3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: 940615                                 LENGTH: WASHINGTON

CLINTON PICKS HISPANIC LAWYER FOR EEOC POST

{LEAD} Ending a search as old as his administration, President Clinton is ready to fill the top job at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The president said Tuesday that he will nominate Gilbert F. Casellas, 41, a prominent Hispanic lawyer who is general counsel of the Air Force. Clinton announced his intention hours after The Washington Post said in an editorial that the 17-month delay in filling the key civil rights job was inexcusable and accused the administration of ``incompetence in the appointments process.''

{REST} The White House said Casellas, a former president of the Hispanic National Bar Association, is ``known for his ability to handle complex issues and for building consensus among divergent groups.''

A 1974 graduate of Yale University, Casellas received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977. He is a native of Tampa, Fla.

{KEYWORDS} APPOINTMENT NOMINATION EEOC by CNB