Date tentatively set for Fall River mayor recount; here is how it will work, where it will take place, and who can attend

FALL RIVER ─ A recount for the mayoral race that saw challenger Gabriel “Boomer” Amaral behind incumbent Paul Coogan in the Nov. 4 citywide election by 225 votes according to the unofficial count, is tentatively set for Saturday, Nov. 15 inside the Atrium at One Government Center.

“He’s returned his nine petitions, and we are certifying the signatures as we speak,” said Board of Elections Chairman Ryan Lyons on Monday.

Lyons, whose office has until Nov. 14 to certify last week’s election results, must give both candidates 72 hours’ notice of the scheduled recount.

The nine ward recount, with three precincts each, will be counted by volunteers by hand. Lyons said he’s reached out to local election officials in communities outside of the city.

Each candidate is allowed two observers per ward, and both Amaral and Coogan will have legal representation of their choice during the recount.

If any ballots are challenged during the process and after the candidates’ attorneys take a look, Lyons said the protested ballots will be brought to the four-member election board, who will make a ruling.

Lyons said that if the recount does proceed on Saturday, it will begin at 9 a.m. and the public will be allowed to observe as well.

If Amaral does not prevail in the recount, Coogan will move into his fourth term as city mayor and has said publicly it will be his last.

In an election with voter turnout at just above 19%, Coogan edged out Amaral, who had unsuccessfully run for City Council in the past and never held public office in the city before.

However, with Coogan receiving 50.7% of the vote to Amaral’s 48.7%, the newcomer to city mayoral politics had a showing in the vote that far outperformed the incumbent’s former challengers that includes disgraced mayor Jasiel Correia II, City Councilor Cliff Ponte and former Fall River mayor and district attorney C. Sam Sutter.

While there have been city election recounts in the past for City Council and School Committee, the last time Fall River saw a mayoral recount was in 1977 when then state Rep. Carlton Viveiros and City Councilor Marilyn Roderick took aim at the city’s top spot.

After the recount, Viveiros won the mayoral seat by 105 votes.