Former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan says he is running for mayor again
The city has not posted its 2027 election dates. Mayor Paul Coogan said last year that he does not plan to run again.
FALL RIVER Former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan said Monday, Oct. 19, that he is running for mayor again. Flanagan was in his third term when voters recalled him in December 2014.
"Fall River deserves a city government that works as hard as its people. That's why I'm confirming my candidacy for Mayor," Flanagan wrote in a post on his public Facebook profile, under the heading "FLANAGAN RUNNING FOR MAYOR."
In the post, he wrote that residents "deserve safe neighborhoods, clean streets, good schools, and city services you can count on," and that they deserve to know their tax money is spent wisely and that "when you call City Hall, someone listens and follows through." He listed his priorities as protecting essential services, fighting wasteful spending, supporting small businesses and making decisions "with working families and seniors in mind."
"I'm Will Flanagan, and I'm asking for your vote," the post ends. "Let's build a Fall River where getting ahead doesn't mean having to move away."
The post does not say when he plans to take out nomination papers. South Coast 360 has asked his campaign for comment.
When Fall River votes
Fall River elects its mayor every two years at what the city calls its biennial municipal election, and the office is next on the ballot in 2027. The City Council orders the election dates, according to the city's Board of Election Commissioners. As of Monday, the board's page on the city website listed no dates or candidates for the 2027 city election.
In the last cycle, nomination papers for mayor, City Council and School Committee became available Monday, April 7, 2025, and the deadline to file a statement of candidacy requesting papers was Thursday, July 17, at 5 p.m., the board said in an April 3 notice. The preliminary election was Tuesday, Sept. 16, and the final election was Tuesday, Nov. 4, according to the board's Feb. 21 notice. Voters had to register at least 10 days before each election, the notice said, and there was no in-person early voting for the city elections, though any voter could ask for a mail-in ballot.
The incumbent
Mayor Paul Coogan won a fourth two-year term in November 2025 in a close race against Gabriel "Boomer" Amaral. Coogan said that week that he does not plan to seek a fifth term in 2027. "I just thought eight years was enough," he said, according to Ocean State Media, adding that the decision had nothing to do with his narrow margin.
In office and since
The recall election came on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Its ballot gave him two chances, one to avoid being recalled and one to be elected mayor again, and he came up short on both, The Associated Press reported the next day. Sam Sutter, then the Bristol County district attorney and one of seven challengers, won the office.
Issues in the recall included layoffs in the fire department and the cost of a trash program, according to the same report. A city councilor also alleged that Flanagan tried to intimidate him with a gun, which Flanagan denied.
Flanagan was mayor from 2010 until the 2014 recall. Since leaving office, he has served on the board of Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, his alma mater.
The 2025 attack
Flanagan was seriously injured when he was attacked on Hartwell Street in Fall River on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. A man was arrested the next morning and charged in the attack. He was indicted in March on charges including assault to murder, remains held without bail and is due back in court Nov. 2 for a status review, the Fall River Reporter reported Monday. Flanagan's post on Monday does not mention the attack.
What comes next
Nomination papers for mayor are issued by the Board of Election Commissioners, which posts its notices and deadlines on the Elections page at fallriverma.gov. Questions can go to the Elections Department at 508-324-2630, on the sixth floor of Government Center, Office 636.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every quote from Flanagan comes from his own Facebook post, read Oct. 19 in a browser tab and saved word for word. Election dates and deadlines come from the city Board of Election Commissioners' notices on fallriverma.gov; the board had posted no 2027 dates as of Oct. 19. Coogan's plans are from his on-record remarks in November 2025. The 2014 recall facts and the reasons given for it come from a wire report the day after the vote; the gun allegation is included with Flanagan's denial. The 2025 attack facts and the case's next date come from the reports listed below; the man charged is not named here. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: South Coast 360 asked Flanagan's campaign for comment Monday afternoon and had no response as of Oct. 19.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (4)
- FLANAGAN RUNNING FOR MAYOR (Facebook post by William A. Flanagan, Oct. 19, 2026)Flanagan's own post on his public Facebook profile, read in a Chrome tab; every quote in the story. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Elections press releases, City of Fall RiverBoard of Election Commissioners. No 2027 notices posted; Feb. 21, 2025, election dates notice (biennial municipal election, dates ordered by the City Council, registration 10 days before, mail-in only); April 3, 2025, nomination papers notice. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Following a narrow reelection victory, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan says he won't seek a fifth termOcean State Media, Nov. 6, 2025. Coogan on record about 2027; fourth term ends in 2027. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
- Also reported by: WBUR, CBS News Boston, Fall River Reporter.