2027 Fall River Mayor Power Rankings 

Almost immediately after winning re-election last year, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan announced that he would not seek re-election in 2027. Incumbents win re-election most of the time because they have name recognition, experience and it’s easier to fundraise. So when incumbents don’t seek re-election, you always see a more active primary season.

I thought it would be worthwhile to provide a list of candidates and rank them based on likeliness of running and chances of winning. This is my opinion and my opinion alone and I will update the rankings as things change.

T-1. Will Flanagan – Getting stabbed by a mentally ill, career criminal homeless man was the worst thing physically and mentally, but best thing politically to revive former mayor Will Flanagan’s political career. He’s been pushing his mayoral run on social media and would be the first Republican mayor of Fall River since World War II. 

T-1. Cliff Ponte – City Council President and local business man Cliff Ponte lost to Paul Coogan in 2021. Ponte had a few things against him – Coogan hadn’t had a full term yet and we were still dealing with COVID. There was also the infamous “the mayor’s position in a ceremonial role” stumble out the gate made it tough to come back from. Five years later, Ponte has a lot more experience, a history of standing up to Coogan and was the top City Council vote-getter last year. 

3. Jasiel Correia – Jasiel Correia has been officially released from the Department of Corrections and neither state law nor the City Charter prevents convicted felons of running for office. If he ran for city council, I’m 100% certain he’d get one of the nine seats. It really depends on who else runs to determine his chances as mayor. A Flanagan, Ponte, Correia primary would be interesting since Flanagan and Correia were both recalled.

4. Paul Coogan – After three terms and winning a fourth, current mayor Paul Coogan stated he would not seek re-election within days of winning. Coogan will likely keep that promise if Jasiel Correia stays out of the race. If Jasiel throws his hat in the ring there is a good chance Coogan will seek re-election to “save the city” from Jasiel-ville. 

5. Carole Fiola – She’s not spending her $205k campaign war chest and might be saving for a mayoral run. She could run for mayor with no risk to her state representative seat since they are not in the same election cycle. Fiola has a very warm relationship with Coogan and would want a friendly mayor to replace Coogan.

6. Christopher Peckham – Peckham was the lone no vote on Fall River’s FY27 budget and is one of the consistent city council voices and votes against the Coogan administration. 

7. Christopher Silvia – I’m firm in my belief that if Silvia ran against Coogan instead of Boomer Amaral, Silvia is your mayor today. Amaral lost by less than 300 votes and I think Christopher would have easily made up the difference. But Christopher put his toes in the Fall River political waters and got his leg chewed off, so he’s likely to stay out of the 2027 race. 

8. Boomer Amaral – Boomer lost to Coogan in 2025 by less than 300 votes. He’s running in a MA GOP primary against Manny Silva for the local State Senate seat currently held by Michael Rodrigues. His biggest issues are a lack of fund raising and a busy family life. If loses another race, it would be hard for him to convince people he can beat other well-known names. His best chance would be to run for a city council seat.

9. Unc X (Anthony Carlesi) – The man most likely to survive a zombie outbreak brings a comedic sarcasm to Fall River’s negative social and political scene to social media. He would represent the every day resident of Fall River that is frustrated by high crime, rent and cost of living in the city. He made a Mayoral AI graphic recently, but I’m not sure he’s serious about running. I think he should – it would make for a fun primary.

10. Sam Sutter – Sutter became Mayor after winning the recall election against Will Flanagan. He has since lost to Jasiel Correia and Paul Coogan. He has a taste for mayor’s office, but I’m not sure he offers anything new or if he’s considering another run. 

11. Kelly Furtado – Former FRPD Chief Kelly Furtado is out for revenge. There is a good chance she will hit the city with a lawsuit this year (her lawyer already sent Mayor Coogan a letter). She may see becoming mayor as the ultimate revenge. I highly doubt she runs, but it would make for an interesting race if she did.

12. Robert Barcellos – Barcellos is a regular guy who seems to have thrown his hat in the ring early. I don’t know much about him except that he leads a podcast and promotes hip hop events. I love when everyday residents step up to run for office, but he’s an unknown to Fall River politics. We’ll have to see if he’s still serious next year and if he resinates with the public.  

13. Carlos Cesar – Cesar started out just fine in his run for mayor, but then stumbled throughout most of the election cycle and finished fourth behind Christopher Silvia who had dropped out of the race. He’d be better off running for city council. 

14. David Meade – Meade has run for City Council and State Senate, so don’t count out a mayoral run.