PROVIDENCE — The Judicial Nominating Commission on Wednesday completed its marathon run of selecting finalists for state court vacancies, picking five candidates to fill a Superior Court seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Mark A. Pfeiffer.

It was the last of five positions the commission has selected finalists for since the start of the year. And the nine-member commission was of like mind, voting unanimously for four of the finalists: Assistant Attorneys General William J. Ferland, Rebecca Tedford Partington, and Stacey Pires Veroni; and Governor Carcieri’s Chief of Staff Brian P. Stern. John R. Gowell Jr., a private practice lawyer from East Greenwich, came in fifth with four votes.

Retired Superior Court Judge Vincent A. Ragosta praised Ferland as a fair, but aggressive prosecutor and consummate professional. He urged the commission to pick “someone of Bill Ferland’s character to carry on the next generation of the Superior Court.” Ferland, 48, of Coventry, has worked for the Department of Attorney General since 1990, serving from 1999 to 2003 as chief of the criminal division and from 2003 to 2008 as deputy chief.

Department of Corrections Director A.T. Wall described Partington, deputy chief of the attorney general’s civil division, as an unflappable, highly disciplined lawyer who willingly takes on the complicated cases. He assured the commission she would be a quick study of criminal law, noting the civil cases are on the rise in state courts. Partington, 49, of Cumberland, has worked for the Department of Attorney General since 1988.

Amalie Santiago told of her struggles since her boyfriend shot her in the face, blinding her in 1991. Veroni, she said, helped secure her services and supported her as she sought to return to school and learn to walk again. When the man convicted in the shooting asked to have his sentence reduced, Veroni was there as a prosecutor and a friend, she said. Veroni, 40, of Pawtucket, began working for the Department of Attorney General in 1994 and now serves as chief of its criminal division.

Stern won backing from Brown Rudnick lawyer William M. Dolan, who said the governor’s chief of staff possessed legal acumen and courage that would well suit the court. He emphasized Stern’s perseverance in switching the state employee health-care coverage. Dolan also spoke on Stern’s behalf in his quest to be chief judge in District Court.

Stern, 42, of East Greenwich, became the governor’s chief of staff in March 2007 after working for the Departments of Administration and Business Regulation.

Longtime Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation member Keith W. Stokes credited Gowell as a lawyer with the “people skills to keep everyone at the table.” Gowell, Stokes said, is a man of ethics and fairness who guided such projects as the Providence Place mall and Fidelity’s expansion. Gowell, 55, of East Greenwich, is an attorney with Burns & Levinson LLP who previously represented the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Brian Van Couyghen and South Kingstown Probate Judge Stephen R. White were not selected. U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente withdrew his candidacy in May.

State law mandates that the governor forward a nominee to the state Senate for consideration in 21 days. Under a state law backed by the governor that runs out June 30, Carcieri will also be able to chose from previous Superior Court finalists submitted by the commission. That list includes Fausto C. Anguilla, Stephen M. Isherwood, Henry S. Monti, George M. Muksian, James V. Murray, Sandra A. Lanni, Luis M. Matos, Kristin E. Rodgers and Carol A. Zangari.

kmulvane@projo.com