Key Agency Candidates Win Praise : Appointees: Women are prominent among Clinton’s choices to head federal posts, including the FCC and SEC.

They may not attract as much general notice as Cabinet nominees, but the people whom President-elect Bill Clinton may name to head the Securities and Exchange Commission and some other key agencies are drawing praise in business and consumer circles.

Among those most prominently mentioned on Clinton’s sub-Cabinet list are two African-American women--Consuela M. Washington, 44, and Antoinette Dibble Cook, 35--who are considered top contenders to head the SEC and Federal Communications Commission, respectively.

Mary Schapiro, a Democrat appointed to the SEC by former President Ronald Reagan in 1988, also has strong backing as a potential chief of the agency.

Such appointments may prove surprisingly important, because Clinton has promised to be a more activist chief executive than his Republican predecessors, who were elected on promises to deregulate business.

Some observers say it may be too early to be definitive about agency appointments. Not until this week, for example, were two teams that have been analyzing the Federal Trade Commission and other federal agencies scheduled to submit recommendations on policy and personnel. A transition spokeswoman said recently that she was not immediately able to determine if those reviews had been completed.

What’s more, SEC Chairman Richard C. Breeden’s five-year term at the agency is not up until June, and he has not said whether he will step down by Inauguration Day.

In the meantime, the fate of some male candidates for key regulatory posts has become cloudy--and the fortunes of some women may be soaring--in the wake of complaints this week that Clinton has appointed too few women to high government posts thus far.

“Politics is a game of numbers, and he can strengthen his position” with the appointment of more women in sub-Cabinet posts, Harriett Woods, president of the National Women’s Political Caucus and head of the Coalition for Women’s Appointments, pointedly observed. “More and more women are in business and have good business connections.”

Among the candidates for SEC chair, Washington, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is described by industry officials as “fair but tough.” She is a longtime securities aide to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. One securities industry official who did not want to be identified said Washington “would impress Wall Street.”

Washington, Schapiro and Nashville lawyer James Cheek, a longtime friend of Vice President-elect Al Gore, recently were cited as top SEC candidates by Joseph Hardiman, chairman of the National Assn. of Securities Dealers.

Schapiro’s candidacy was endorsed by Dale M. Hanson, chief executive of the huge California Public Employees’ Retirement System, in a letter this month to Clinton’s transition team.

“If the Clinton Administration would like to send a signal that it wants talented women in top economic jobs . . . Mary Schapiro should be considered a top candidate for SEC chair,” he wrote.

Others mentioned for the SEC chairmanship include Stephen Hammerman, vice chairman and general counsel of Merrill Lynch & Co.

At the FCC, Cook’s name has been among the most frequently mentioned. But other possible candidates include Philip Verveer, a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer who helped pursue the breakup of the Bell System, and Sharon Nelson, chairwoman of the Washington State Public Utilities Commission.

Cook, a graduate of Northwestern University Law School, is believed to have the inside track. She is senior counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, specializing in communications issues. And her stepfather is Clinton transition Chairman Vernon Jordan.

Yet sources said she will face some tough personal choices if offered the job, because she is expecting a child.

FCC Chairman Alfred C. Sikes has announced that he will step down Jan. 19. But the transition machinery for the FCC, headed by Washington lawyer Ronald L. Plesser, is just gearing up in the wake of the first round of top Cabinet appointments earlier this month.

Other prospects for FCC chairman include Washington communications lawyer Lewis J. Paper and Roy Neel, a top aide to Gore.

However, some worried that, with many crucial regulatory matters looming, the Clinton team may not act fast enough on sub-Cabinet level appointments.

“Many of us have been pressing for the rapid appointment of agency chairs,” said Andrew Schwartzman, head of the Media Access Project, a Washington-based group active in communications issues.

The FCC, Schwartzman noted, must implement a new cable television law by spring and deal with other big issues, such as TV syndication rules and new communications technology.