WARWICK — Five candidates — three Democrats, a Republican and an independent—have filed declarations of candidacy for the District 22 House of Representatives seat vacated by Peter T. Ginaitt last month.

The field of candidates is diverse, mixing newcomers with faces familiar in local political circles. And with three Democrats vying for the seat, voters will see a primary in October if at least two of those candidates stay in the race.

All three Democrats are making their first bid for office. They are: Frank G. Ferri, of 38 Lippitt Ave.; Edgar N. Ladouceur, of 106-2 Channel View, and Olin Thompson, of 146 Randall Ave.

Also filing declarations were political veterans Jonathan Wheeler, of 444 Warwick Neck Ave., a Republican, and independent Carlo Pisaturo, of 181 Narragansett Bay Ave, a former City Council member.

Ferri, 53, owns the Town Hall Lanes bowling alley, in Johnston, but he is perhaps best known for his State House activism on such topics as marriage equality — he is chairman of Marriage Equality RI, which has lobbied for marriage rights for same-sex couples — as well as for affordable health care.

“I realized many years ago that anything the General Assembly does affects my life and my business,” Ferri said yesterday. “Then I got to know how it works being up at the State House in the last four years. You start to develop an interest and you get frustrated when things don’t work. When this chance came up with Peter Ginaitt’s seat, I saw it was really an opportunity.”

Ladoucer, 56, is also new to elective politics, but he says his experience as owner of Stormtite, a Warwick home-improvement business, has taught him a great deal about issues that he says would be central to his campaign: workers’ compensation reform and standards to deal with outlaw contractors.

“I’ve been involved on these legislative issues for a long time,” he said. As for seeking office, “It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time now and with this opportunity presenting itself, I felt the timing was perfect to do so,” he said yesterday.

For Thompson, 36, it was his experience as a public defender, first with the state and later with the federal government that taught him the importance of public service. “I learned during that time that sometimes the only way to get things done is at the legislative level,” he said last night. “What I’d bring to the job is that commitment to public service, a history of giving a voice to those without a voice and really a talent to bring people together and find creative solutions where there appear to be roadblocks.”

Should at least two of the three Democrats return nominating papers with enough signatures, a Democratic primary will be held Oct. 23.

On the Republican side, Jonathan Wheeler, 41, former treasurer of the state GOP and longtime chairman of the Warwick Republican City Committee, is the only Republican to have taken out papers.

Republican State Chairman Giovanni Cicione has already thrown his support behind Wheeler, and party spokeswoman Donna Perry said the GOP will be active in his campaign. “We think he’s bright, he’s energetic and he’s going to run hard for the seat,” Perry said.

Pisaturo, 65, a 12-year veteran of the City Council, former council president and two-time mayoral candidate, will run as an independent. Having left public office in 2004, Pisaturo chose this time to return because “nothing beats experience,” he said.

“I don’t like what’s happening up on Smith Hill,” he said, saying the state needs an overhauled school-aid formula and a statewide teachers contract.

Pisaturo, a former Democrat who disaffiliated some years ago, is an inspector resident engineer at Garofalo & Associates, in Providence.

Joseph E. Gallucci, clerk of the Board of Canvassers, said it is not unusual to see five candidates in a special election.

The declared candidates have until Sept. 25 — one week from today— to return nominating papers with at least 50 signatures from District 22 voters to be eligible for the race.

cneedham@projo.com