School board member Paul Coogan claimed victory in Fall River's mayoral race in a speech Tuesday night, and said his victory was a new chapter for the city after the series of political scandals that had followed incumbent Mayor Jasiel Correia for the past two years.

“This has been a long campaign,” Coogan said to the crowd of over 200 people Tuesday. “Thank you for not giving up on me, and more importantly, thank you for not giving up on Fall River.”

Coogan took nearly 80 percent of the vote — nearly 11,000 votes — according to unofficial results from the city. Town Administrator Cathy Ann Viveiros secured 13% with a last-minute write-in campaign, and Correia finished with almost 8 percent with just over 1,000 votes.

Coogan addressed the ongoing political saga that has made Fall River, in his words, “a joke and a laughingstock” in the state, following two federal indictments served to Correia within the last two years, and a period of ensuing drama.

“We’re tired of the revenge politics, we’re tired of the dirty politics, we’re tired of the political infighting, and we’re tired, now, of politics in general,” Coogan said. “We’re tired of fighting in public and on social media, and we’re tired of all this drama, the lack of stability, and the endless bad, embarrassing headlines. We have had enough.”

Coogan said Correia reached out to congratulate him in brief phone call after his win. “He said if I needed any help, he’d be more than willing to work with me,” Coogan told reporters. “I thanked him very much. … I was glad he called.”

Correia’s first set of federal charges stem from alleged abuse of investor funds in SnoOwl, an app Correia designed in 2018. The next year, Correia was indicted again on charges that included extorting marijuana companies hoping to do business in Fall River. In total, Correia faces 24 counts, including bribery and tax fraud. The now 27-year-old mayor has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Correia, who stepped down last month and ended his third mayoral campaign, did not respond to request for comment, and was not home at his apartment on Tuesday. Cathy Ann Viveiros, a member of Correia’s administration who faced accusations of being a stalking horse for the mayor’s agenda, also did not respond to request for comment.

Coogan said his new administration will not tolerate corruption in any capacity, but he doesn’t necessarily plan to gut the entire administration until he can conduct a thorough review.

“I’m not going to replace anybody until I talk to the people who work in that building, look at their evaluations and see where they’re going to go,” Coogan said. “I have no plans for wholesale firing of anybody. I do want to look at the individuals and see what they’re doing to help the city.”

Coogan ran against Correia once before, during a bizarre election last year where voters recalled Correia and voted him back into office on the same night. Fall River resident Augie Venice helped get Correia elected when he first ran in 2015, and then, after the first set of federal charges came down, helped organize the recall effort against him. When the numbers declaring Coogan's victory appeared on a projector screen at his election night party, Venice ran into a woman’s arms and yelled, “It’s over! We did it!”

“It feels really great,” Venice said. “It’s been a long time, and he put us through hell. It’s a huge relief, and it makes it all worthwhile.”

Coogan’s younger sister Joan Mabie said his decision to run was “astonishing,” but she has faith that he will help the city. “If anybody can do this, turn the city around and make it whole again,” Mabie said, “Paul can.”