Ready to Retire, Verity Says

WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary C. William Verity said today that he will not seek reappointment when George Bush becomes President on Jan. 20. “He wants younger people and I applaud him for that,” said Verity, who is 71. “I was retired when I took this job, and I guess I’ll be retired again.”

Verity, named Commerce secretary in August, 1987, after Secretary Malcolm Baldrige was killed in a rodeo accident, said he is ready to help Bush in the transition to the new Administration. Verity retired as chairman of the board of Armco, a major steel firm, in 1982 but remained a member for another four years.