Ed was seeing red on Friday.

Ed Ladouceur, the incumbent Ward 5 councilman, had just heard from a friend that he had an opponent. Ladouceur thought that impossible. While Michael Koerner had taken out declaration papers as an independent, he had not returned them to the Board of Canvassers. How could Koerner be on the ballot without having filed the required signatures of 50 registered ward voters and the certification of the Board of Canvassers?

Yet he had a photo of a Ward 5 ballot and there was Koerner’s name. What’s more, mail ballots had already been mailed out to registered voters out of state and the country. Those voters may have already cast their ballots. The bigger question was whether the error could be corrected in time for early voting that starts on Oct. 19 and for the Nov. 8 election?

By Sunday afternoon, Ladouceur had cooled down although how the error had been made wasn’t explained, nor did he fully understand the explanation that it was too late to alter the ballot. He was told to make that change – just to reprint the ballots for Ward 5 – would require the state Board of Elections to call in 800 machines statewide to be reprogrammed.

However, Ladouceur was pleased by the board’s responsiveness to the situation and willingness to take action so Ward 5 voters know Koerner isn’t running for the council seat. At an hour-long Sunday meeting attended members of the Board of Canvassers, Director of Elections Kerry Nardolillo and staff members, a plan was drafted for the board to advertise that Koerner is not running, to post notices at polling locations and to mail notices to registered voters in the ward. Nardolillo was in the process of preparing to mail 7,000 letters to Ward 5 voters on Monday. In addition, there will be robo calls to Ward 5 voters.

Ladouceur suggested that poll voters inform voters that Koerner is not a candidate, but that was quickly ruled out as it is a violation for poll workers to make voting recommendations.

“I don’t want people to think there’s craziness going on,” he said, referencing claims in the wake of 2020 election that President Biden stole the election.

What Ladouceur can’t fathom is how the posting when undetected when samples of ballot were given to the Warwick Board of Canvassers, not once but twice. In addition, it would seem the ballot would have been checked against the listing of certified candidates released by the board. Koerner’s name does not appear on the list which was provided to the news media.

Nardolillo didn’t have an explanation. “I’m not sure how it happened…accidents happen,” she said.

“It’s not his fault,” Ladouceur said of Koerner. “He had no idea his name was on the ballot.”

Knowing Koerner had taken out declaration papers and not returned them, Ladouceur said he called him and suggested they get together for coffee. Ladouceur said he wanted to hear what he might do to improve representation of the ward and to see if Koerner would join his team.

Koerner didn’t learn he was on the ballot until Saturday. He said Sunday while he believes no candidates should go unchallenged, he didn’t seek to obtain the required signatures to be on the ballot because he got hit with a work schedule.

“I wasn’t able to get out there and get them,” he said.

Koernor said he had “no gripes” with Ladouceur. As for his personal interest in running, which he may do in the future, he said, “I’m a life-long resident and I have a love for the city.” He credited the late Warwick teacher and Warwick historian Don D’Amato as “putting the seed in me” for public office.