Sacramento supervisors: Rich Desmond, Gregg Fishman in likely runoff; Sue Frost keeps seat
As of 2 a.m., Rich Desmond and Gregg Fishman led the pack to fill the Sacramento County Board of Supervisor District 3 seat, while incumbent Sue Frost was in the lead to hold onto her District 4 seat.
The District 3 contest has been the most competitive supervisor race this year, after Susan Peters — who held the seat for 16 years — announced in 2019 that she would not seek reelection. The district represents largely unincorporated suburban areas east of Sacramento such as Arden Arcade, Carmichael and Fair Oaks.
Among the five candidates for the seat on the March ballot — Matt Ceccato, Catrayel Wood, Fishman, Desmond and Tiffany Mock-Goeman — Fishman and Desmond got key endorsements from local officials and regional associations.
Desmond, a Carmichael resident, is a former California Highway Patrol chief who previously led the agency’s legislative affairs program. He told The Bee he’s “seen first hand” the breadth of challenges the county faces, such as dangerous road conditions and people suffering from mental health crises.
Fishman, an Arden Park resident, is a member of the SMUD board of directors and before that worked as a communications coordinator at the California State Association of Counties. He previously told The Sacramento Bee that he’s experienced “the ins and outs of local government” in his past positions, and has learned about innovative solutions piloted by other agencies.
Fishman is endorsed by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Supervisor Phil Serna, and is also backed by several local labor unions and the county’s Democratic Party.
He has raised about $110,800 for the race, according to latest campaign filings.
Desmond, endorsed by Peters and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, is also supported by several law enforcement associations.
He has outraised Fishman nearly 3 to 1, raising about $324,700, according to recent campaign filings.
If no candidate wins a majority of the vote during the primary, the top two vote-getters compete in a run-off during the November 2020 election.
Frost has been supervisor of District 4 since 2016. She represents Citrus Heights, Folsom and northeast unincorporated communities such as Orangevale and Antelope. The incumbent only had one challenger, Bridget Duffy, a self-described housewife who had not reported any campaign contributions during the race.
Because Frost won a majority of the vote, she automatically wins the race and there will be no run-off election.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:16 PM.