Is Fall River in danger or on the rise? Coogan and Sutter can't agree at mayoral debate.

FALL RIVER — The candidates for mayor squared off in an aggressive hourlong debate Thursday evening that was a tale of two cities.

Former Bristol County district attorney and mayor Sam Sutter and incumbent Mayor Paul Coogan described entirely different Fall Rivers — one city in dire straits with a bleak future, and the other making healthy strides on a trajectory to improve. And neither man seemed to remember the other ever stepping up to help.

“I’m worried about the direction of the city,” Sutter said.

He called Coogan a “phantom mayor” and slammed him for what he described as “all-time high” crime rates, high taxes, business development and more. “I love the job, and I’m positive I can do a better job than the mayor is doing right now.”

Coogan hit back with data showing a reduction in crime and overdoses and a list of business expansions under his watch, saying he has experience and a deep connection to Fall River that Sutter doesn’t have.

He hit Sutter repeatedly for what he described as vanishing from city life since he lost re-election in 2015 — and at one point claimed Sutter asked for a job in city government, but he rejected him because of Sutter’s poor “work ethic.”

“Our city is not out of control,” Coogan said, “and I really do get distressed when someone comes in from the middle of nowhere, eight years out, to tell the residents to be fearful. It’s scare tactics, and I know it’s not going to earn him any votes.”

Crime in Fall River: Different approaches and different statistics

Both candidates, speaking to moderator Keith Thibault of Fall River Community Media, had their own versions of Fall River's crime stats. 

“Crime is at an all-time high, that’s clear,” said Sutter. “We’ve got to look it in the eye.”

Sutter cited a Herald News article from 2014, during his time as district attorney, showing a three-year decrease in the number of violent crimes in Fall River. He then cited statistics from the FBI showing that Fall River is now ranked second-highest statewide in terms of violent crime per capita, behind North Adams.

According to a review of FBI statistics, in 2014 Fall River reported 1,036 violent crimes. In 2021, the most recent year available, the city reported 869 violent crimes.

“I’m generally dismayed that we haven’t been able to do more with respect to gun violence," Sutter said. “And I’m going to get involved in that fight if I’m elected mayor again.”

Sutter said he was surprised Coogan had not joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, part of the Everytown for Gun Safety advocacy group, nor had Coogan “done more to bring back ShotSpotter or some similar technology.” He added that ShotSpotter, which uses microphones placed around the city to detect and pinpoint the sound of gunfire, is used in several cities statewide.

Coogan showed FBI data which he said he obtained from the Fall River Police Department showing that Fall River’s crime rate in 2015, during Sutter’s tenure, was “four or five times ours.” He added that the FRPD’s body-worn camera program has been well-received, has drastically reduced citizen complaints, and has made officers and residents feel safer.

The mayor also said the ShotSpotter technology was “90% inaccurate” and cost $140,000. “I’m not going to put any taxpayer money into ShotSpotter until that technology is as effective as it could be,” he said.

The ShotSpotter system was in use from 2012 to 2018, when the city’s police leadership and then-Mayor Jasiel Correia II turned off the service, citing a poor accuracy rate including missing all seven shots in the fatal shooting of a Fall River man.

“If ShotSpotter is so ineffective, why is it such a successful company?” said Sutter.

'I don’t know how people are making it': How Fall River is developing affordable housing

Housing: Sutter talks stabilizing affordable rents, Coogan says market-rate construction helps economy

Sutter and Coogan were again at odds over the concept of market-rate housing, with Sutter saying Fall River had "plenty of that” and it was “driving up rents.”

He said Fall River did not take advantage of HUD’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, or use more ARPA money, to create more affordable housing. “The only reason I can think of why you didn’t is because you care more about the developers than about those who are paying rents,” Sutter said.

Sutter said he would attempt to secure money from that trust fund and set aside more ARPA funds for affordable housing. He added that he would begin a “systematic outreach to the landlords about holding the line on rents,” but would not go as far as advocating for rent control.

Coogan said 28% of the city’s housing stock is classified as affordable, and noted the downstream effects of building more market-rate housing: increased jobs for the local construction industry, an influx of new residents with higher incomes, spending their money in local businesses.

“He’s telling electricians, plumbers, cement workers, painters, tilers: we don’t want you working in Fall River," Coogan said.

He said the 15 new market-rate apartments in the former ILGWU health center on Third Street are filled by people from out of town who “brought their money to Fall River.”

“If we’re building things that people come from out of town to live in, he’s against that?”

Coogan doubted that Sutter had taxpayers' interests at heart, since as mayor he instituted a $10 monthly trash disposal fee; Sutter claimed he levied it to save jobs in the police and fire departments.

Uncertain future: The Bank Street Armory sale is paused after objections.

Bank Street Armory: Keep it or sell it?

Housing issues bled into the topic of the Bank Street Armory sale. Coogan has advocated for its sale to developer Alan Macomber, who has proposed to buy the century-old granite fortress for $200,000 and convert it into an apartment complex.

Coogan said estimates show the severely dilapidated armory would require $10 million to $12 million to rehabilitate, and then a steady flow of more to maintain it, which the city doesn’t have. He said cities around the state have also turned their armories into housing.

“We can put it back on the tax rolls and save the building," Coogan said.

“Even if he was offering more than that, that building is a Fall River treasure,” Sutter said. He argued that the city should not let it go, though when pressed by Coogan, Sutter did not identify a means of paying for it. “Without a huge investment of money, we can turn that armory back into what it was, which was a community center.”

The top 10 property taxpayers: Who has the biggest tax bill in Fall River?

Business development: Sutter takes credit for Market Basket as Coogan touts expansions

Sutter several times touted his track record in attracting businesses to Fall River during his year as mayor, saying he was responsible for helping bring an Amazon fulfillment center to the north end, and secured Market Basket as the anchor tenant for South Coast Marketplace.

Coogan allowed that he’d heard Sutter made one phone call to the developers, but cast those projects as the work of multiple mayors, beginning with the mayor who preceded Sutter, Will Flanagan.

“Market Basket was nowhere near the table when I became mayor. I put that deal together,” Sutter said, calling the south end shopping plaza “perhaps the primary economic engine of the city right now.”

“We can do the same thing for the downtown," Sutter said. “We can do the same thing for the Flint.”

Coogan said under his administration the city’s industrial park has sold out, and Blount Seafood, Nantucket Sound Seafood, Gold Medal, Seekonk Supply, Taco and other companies are looking to expand their facilities and add jobs.

When asked about the Prysmian project in Somerset, which hopes to build a facility on Brayton Point to build undersea cables for wind farms, Sutter said that if Somerset decided to pass on the project, he would “become an expert” on it to decide if the company is a good fit for Fall River.

“How do you know we’re not already doing that?” Coogan said.

City engagement: Coogan says Sutter has poor 'work ethic'

Coogan took multiple swipes at Sutter over a perceived lack of engagement with the community, repeatedly saying that while he is a hands-on mayor, he never saw Sutter at events or participating in meetings after he left office.

“He is not engaged,” Coogan said. “People all over say, ‘Where has he been?’”

Sutter said if he wasn't present, it was because it was “hard to fall from the sixth floor … all the way to the ground and then rebuild a law practice."

He hit back, saying he never saw Coogan at events when he was DA or mayor.

The two became heated when Coogan claimed that Sutter once asked him for a job in the Community Development Agency as a part-time attorney. “I had no interest in hiring him,” Coogan said, “because when he came to me I had already heard about his lack of work ethic.”

“That’s a complete lie,” Sutter said. “Show me the proof of it, because it didn’t take place.

“Anybody that knows me knows that my work ethic is second to none.”

When are the next debates, and when is the election?

Fall River Community Media is hosting two forums for City Council candidates on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 6 and 8 p.m. The panels will be broadcast on Channel 95, on FRMedia.org/election2023, and streaming live on the FRC Media Facebook page.

The election is set for Nov. 7.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Paul Coogan, Sam Sutter debate in campaign for Fall River mayor