Penny Coleman, the acting general counsel at the National Indian Gaming Commission, will retire on July 2, a spokesperson said today.

Coleman, a non-Indian attorney, held the post since the end of the Clinton administration. The Bush administration kept her in the job in an "acting" capacity.

An NIGC spokesperson said Coleman's retirement has been in the works for "some time." But it comes as the agency is being remade by President Barack Obama.

Tracie Stevens, a member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington who has been nominated to serve as chair of NIGC, is expected to name a new general counsel if she is confirmed by the Senate. The administration nominated the two other members of the commission as well.

Coleman's predecessor was Indian. Tribes have been pushing the NIGC to adopt an Indian preference policy and the agency recently sent a letter to tribes to ask them about hiring practices.

White House Announcement:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts (White House 4/28)

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