Fishman concedes, making Desmond the next supervisor for Sacramento County’s 3rd district

After an incredibly tight race for the supervisors seat in Sacramento County’s third district, Gregg Fishman conceded Friday night to Rich Desmond, making him the next representative of Carmichael, Arden Arcade and Fair Oaks.

The most recent vote tally, released Friday afternoon, gave Desmond a narrow lead over Fishman. About 2,400 votes separate the two, but with most ballots in the county already counted, Fishman is unlikely to break Desmond’s lead.

“While it is mathematically possible for me to catch up, the likelihood of that happening is extremely low,” Fishman wrote on social media. “To all of my supporters, and there are MANY of you out there ... I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time, your help, your effort on behalf of my campaign.

“We ran a very good race. I wish the outcome were different, but we can all be extremely proud of what we have done.”

Desmond, a former commander in the California Highway Patrol, will fill the seat on the Board of Supervisors left by Susan Peters, who did not seek re-election and who endorsed Desmond. He was also endorsed by Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and many local law enforcement and firefighters associations.

Fishman, who serves on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s board, boasted some impressive endorsements as well, garnering support from Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Supervisor Phil Serna and the county’s Democratic Party many local labor unions.

Early results on Election Night gave a small lead to Fishman, but as more votes were tallied, the advantage shifted to Desmond. During the March primary, Desmond took the lion’s share of the votes, with 32,000 votes compared to Fishman’s 19,400.

Speaking with The Sacramento Bee on Saturday, Fishman said that he had no regrets from the campaign trail, and said that he was “proud that we ran a campaign based on real issues,” but decided to call the race as “the count has favored Rich in every new batch of votes counted since Election Day.”

Over the course of the campaign, Desmond, a Carmichael resident, has made homelessness his first priority.

“The number of people living on our streets and open spaces has more than doubled in the last few years despite more and more public funding to prevent it,” he wrote on his official campaign website.

By Saturday afternoon, Fishman’s site was already taken down. He will continue to serve on the SMUD board, and said that he would remain a part of county government in some respect, even if that means just appearing as an individual citizen at supervisors meetings.

“It’s too important to not pay attention to,” he said.

Desmond was not immediately available for comment.

This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 1:04 PM.