NAACP LOBBYING FOR A MINORITY JUDGE
The creation of a new judgeship in Chesapeake has black leaders hoping the General Assembly will change the face of the city's all-white, all-male judiciary early next year.
``We're not interested in anyone but a minority since Chesapeake does not have a minority, which, in 1994, is unacceptable to the African-American community,'' said Paul Gillis, areawide chairman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
``We're just not going to accept anybody else but an African-American.''
State legislators said it was too early to identify candidates since the measure has not yet been approved by the entire General Assembly. But one possible front-runner is Chesapeake lawyer Eileen Olds, who would satisfy the need for a female and minority presence on the bench.
``Eileen Olds should be No. 1 in the listing for the judgeship,'' said March Cromuel, president of the Chesapeake branch of the NAACP. ``She is probably the senior black attorney in the city, and we feel that she is well qualified and capable.''
Last year, Olds' name surfaced after a group of black leaders met to protest the appointment of former state Del. V. Thomas Forehand to the General District Court bench. As legislative custom usually dictates, Forehand was appointed permanently after serving as the temporary replacement for Judge Stephen Comfort, who had resigned last May.