Candidates for the Coles County state’s attorney, coroner and County Board Districts 9 and 10 will be given 45 to 50 minutes to discuss their platforms and answer audience-posed questions today.

The debate will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Moriarty Hall at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Charleston.

Steve Ferguson, Democrat and the incumbent state’s attorney, will face off against Republican Paul Komanda and Green Party candidate Todd Reardon. The three candidates will discuss their position on state issues in responses to the audience.

The focus of past debates has centered on each candidate’s willingness to give voices to the people, as well as their experience with litigation and investigation. A prioritization of major cases that represent the public’s moral values was a popular topic to discuss in past debates, too.

For coroner, Democrat Mike Nichols, Republican Ed Schniers and Green Party candidate Michael Snow will also try to appeal to the audience.

Nichols, the current coroner, and Schniers discussed their abilities to meld the office of coroner into something that serves the public more evenly than the past at the Oct. 14 Candidate Forum. Snow did not attend.

There will be three sessions, one for each office hosted by the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Mattoon Chamber of Commerce and the Coles County League of Women.

Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].