Committee to recall Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan receives 10 signatures to move process forward

A group looking to oust the Mayor of Fall River has taken another step towards their attempt.

According to a press release, The Committee to Recall Mayor Paul Coogan held an organizational meeting on Sunday and obtained the 10 signatures necessary to initiate recall proceedings against Mayor Coogan.

The committee states that they will begin recall proceedings in the coming days.

The group officially organized in March, filing a statement of organization with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

The Chair is listed as Nelson Vasquez and the Treasurer, Jeffrey Gaudreau.

When Fall River Reporter contacted the group for the reasons why they were moving forward with a potential recall, they released the following statement.

“We are calling for the recall of Mayor Paul E. Coogan due to a pattern of failed leadership, lack of transparency, and poor management of city affairs.

“During the February 2026 snowstorm, the City of Fall River experienced prolonged unsafe conditions and delayed recovery, reflecting inadequate planning and coordination. In his role as Chair of the School Committee, Mayor Coogan withheld key information from members, limited fair public participation at meetings, and acted in ways that undermined trust and proper governance.

“Further concerns include his unilateral renewal of the Police Chief’s contract without City Council approval and his veto of an investigation into Police Department actions, raising serious questions about accountability and oversight.

“More broadly, Mayor Coogan has not effectively addressed critical issues such as public safety, rising living costs, and housing affordability, leaving many residents without meaningful relief or solutions.

“Taken together, these actions demonstrate a consistent failure to meet the responsibilities of his office. For these reasons, we believe a recall is necessary in the best interest of the City of Fall River.”

Here is a refresher on how the recall process works in accordance with the City Charter.

How the recall process starts

-Any 10 registered voters of the city may file an affidavit with the City Clerk. The affidavit must contain the name of the official (the mayor) and a statement of the grounds for recall.

-The City Clerk then issues official petition blanks to those voters.

-The completed petition must be returned and filed with the City Clerk within 20 days.

-The petition must be signed by at least 5% of registered Fall River voters (with street addresses included). Fall River had 56,321 registered voters in 2025, so roughly 2,816 certified signatures would be needed to proceed.

After the petition is filed

-If the City Clerk certifies the petition as sufficient, the City Council must order a special recall election.

The recall election

-Voters are asked two questions on the same ballot:

-Shall the mayor be recalled? (Yes/No)

-If the mayor is recalled, who should succeed them? (A list of candidates, including the current mayor if they choose to run again).

Some argue that recalling a politician with a two-year term is a waste of city funds as the special election costs thousands (over $60,000 in 2019) and by the time a possible recall election is held, a new election will not be far off, however, for Fall River, it is not unprecedented.

Both Will Flanagan (2014) and Jasiel Correia (2019) were recalled; however, Correia was re-elected on the same day as under Fall River’s charter, the recalled official is allowed to run for re-election on the same ballot.

If the recall group plans to act quickly as their statement indicates, you could soon see petitioners across the city.