Joseph Flood

Who was Joseph Flood?

Joseph E. Flood was the Democratic mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts 1970 to 1972.

Flood was elected mayor after having retired as Chairman of the Board of Assessors. He completed over 30 years as a member of that Board. As Mayor, he was responsible for the construction of the new Taunton High School, which replaced the one built in 1919 by his father, former Taunton mayor William Flood.

Known as "The Quiet Mayor", Flood was popular among downtown merchants because he walked daily to City Hall from his home behind Morton Hospital, stopping and greeting everyone as he went. He was defeated in the election of 1971, in part because he refused to actively campaign while devoting his time to his wife, Anna, who was then quite ill. Flood felt vindicated when in 1974 when he was elected to the City Council and served several terms.

Joseph E. Flood, whose mayoral term in the early 1970s marked a period of transition and change for Taunton, died Monday Apr 08, 1991 at Morton Hospital after a short illness. Husband of Anna M. Flood, he was 89 and a resident of 16 Hope Street. The 56-year political career which ended with Flood's retirement in 1985 was the continuation of a family tradition.