Longtime Flint community organizer Carlos Cesar may be eyeing run as Fall River mayor

FALL RIVER — The 2025 Fall River mayoral election is 16 months away, but it looks like one potential candidate is dipping his toe into campaign headwaters early.

Carlos Cesar, the longtime president of the Flint Neighborhood Association and a vacation guide, filed a statement of organization to run for mayor with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance in May.

The OCPF posted Cesar’s organizing a committee for mayor on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after he filed notification with campaign finance.

Cesar did not immediately return a request for comment, but the OCPF filing indicates that Jeffrey Gaudreau is the chairman of the committee and John Sylvia is the treasurer.

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A June campaign finance report shows that Cesar has $25 in his account that he loaned himself.

He lists his political affiliation as unenrolled.

Who is Carlos Cesar?

Cesar has been a champion for the Flint neighborhood over the years and both a supporter and critic of several mayors, often appearing in person at City Council meetings to speak about issues during the citizens' input portion.

He has been critical of Mayor Paul Coogan’s administration, whom he could challenge next year. On several social media platforms, Cesar has complained that Coogan does not recognize him as a community leader in the Flint.

Coogan has not indicated publicly whether he will seek a third term as mayor.

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Federal investigation connection

Cesar could be the first mayoral candidate in the city to have assisted the federal government in investigating and prosecuting a Fall River mayor for corruption. Cesar has both supported and sparred with former mayor Jasiel Correia II, who is serving a six-year prison sentence on fraud and extortion charges.

In 2013, when Correia was a freshman city councilor, he donated $4,000 that allowed the Flint Neighborhood Association to purchase the former Davol Elementary School for a community center. Their relationship was still good in 2016, when Correia took office as mayor. Correia expanded the “footprint” of the Flint neighborhood that year.

But over time, their relationship soured. Cesar testified against Correia before a federal grand jury and then for the prosecution during Correia's four-week trial. While on the witness stand, Cesar was shown evidence that Correia's $4,000 donation was from an account belonging to SnoOwl, a company Correia owned funded by investors who believed their money was being used to build a smartphone app.

During a heated exchange on the stand at trial with Correia’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington insinuated that Cesar knew the donation was from SnoOwl, claiming that Cesar helped Correia advertise the company during a tour of the Flint. Cesar said, “That's a lie.”