Two Coles County attorneys will face off in the Democratic primaries on March 19 for a judgeship in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Steve Ferguson, the Coles County state’s attorney for the past nine years, will run against Mattoon lawyer Steve Ryan for a position that opened up after Judge Paul Komada retired last year.

Ferguson is currently prosecuting the county’s case against Anthony B. Mertz, who is accused of killing Eastern student Shannon McNamara on June 12. Mertz could face the death penalty if convicted.

The winner of the primary election will go on to face Republican Mitch Shick of Charleston in the general election on Nov. 5.

Shick has held Komada’s position on an interim basis since Nov. 30.

The Fifth Judicial Circuit includes Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermilion counties. Circuit judges are elected to a six-year term, after which they run on a ballot that allows voters to only decide whether they should remain in office or not.

Ferguson, a Mattoon resident, said that he has been interested in law since he was about 12 years old, when his father took him to see the Illinois Supreme Court.

“I was fascinated,” Ferguson said. “I guess it sparked an interest.”

This election is “a new challenge that I am interested in pursuing in my legal career,” he said.

Ferguson stressed his experience with law, noting that he has been an attorney for almost 20 years.

“I have a wide variety of experience in both criminal and civil law,” he said. “I think I have a very well-rounded experience that would meet the needs of being a circuit judge.”

As a judge, Ferguson said he would continue to be a voice for victims.

“Whether it’s a civil case or a criminal case, persons should be held accountable for their actions,” he said.

However, Ferguson said a good judge must also have an “even-keeled demeanor, one that is respectful to persons appearing before him.

“Even though you are the judge, I don’t think you can be overbearing,” he said.

Ferguson supports the death penalty, but said such a punishment should “be reserved for only the worst of the worst cases.

“I have to look at the facts involved in each case,” he said. “I can’t just make a knee-jerk reaction.”

Ferguson said he was “optimistic, but not overconfident” about his chances on March 17.

“I’ve won three elections,” he said. “I feel (Democratic) voters will remember me. Obviously in other counties where I am not well known I will have to introduce myself, but I think people recognize the experience that I have and feel that I would make a good candidate for the democratic party.”

Phone calls to Ryan went unreturned.