Fall River Mayoral Debate Reversals: Carlos Cesar Bows Out as Christopher Silvia Joins In

FALL RIVER ─ The same day mayoral candidate Christopher Silvia reversed his refusal to participate in Fall River’s lone preliminary debate, fellow candidate Carlos Cesar released a statement declining to participate.

On Tuesday, Cesar sent an email to the Fall River Reporter, the host of the Sept. 4 debate, that while he appreciated the invitation, “I must respectfully decline. I feel it is more important for me to meet as many citizens of Fall River as I can and tell them what I will do to make things better.”

“If the other candidates feel debating each other rather than bringing their message directly to the people is best; that is their prerogative,” wrote Cesar.

He went on claiming that incumbent Paul Coogan, after six years in office, had a record that was “non-debatable.”

Also on Tuesday, candidate Silvia in a Facebook post indicated that he would now join the debate after pulling out last week.

Contacted on Wednesday, Cesar gave an additional reason why he withdrew from the debate: the Fall River Reporter’s interview with Coogan was not broadcast live, like his interview and Gabriel “Boomer” Amaral interviews, which were broadcast live.

Coogan was one of three of the five candidates who agreed to be a guest on the podcast. His interview was on Aug. 22 when the live broadcast at 10 a.m. was hampered by the internet being down and broadcast in its entirety without edits a few hours later.

Asked if he felt the Fall River Reporter edited Coogan’s interview he responded, “I don’t know,” and that his interview on the podcast was not fair.

Cesar further explained that debates were “not my thing,” and said it was a forum where candidate supporters would essentially be those in attendance and “nothing would be accomplished.”

Cesar said he intends to participate in tonight’s candidate “open mic” forum sponsored by the Flint Neighborhood Association. Cesar was the longtime president of the association until stepping down when he announced his run for mayor.

Cesar, previously a registered Democrat, changed his affiliation to Republican at the time he announced his intention to run in a non-partisan mayoral election.

According to campaign finance reports, Cesar hired the public relations firm Hockomock Digital of West Bridgewater as his campaign manager at $1,500 on Dec. 5, 2024.

According to Hockomock Digital’s website, they have done a lot of work on primarily Republican campaigns, including the Nikki Haley for President campaign.