SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - With many thousands of votes still to be counted at the time of this publication, District 3 is still on tenterhooks to learn who its new County Supervisor will be.

Candidates were practically neck and neck on election night, with SMUD director Gregg Fishman slightly ahead of former CHP Chief commander Rich Desmond.

When the vote count was announced at 8 pm, Fishman had an advantage of more than 2500 votes. The gap had closed to 1875 by 10 pm and was further whittled to 1972 by midnight. Two hours later, a refreshed tally had shrunk the lead to 1372.  Desmond achieved 63 per cent of almost 4,300 votes counted after 8 pm but at that stage, 40,000 ballots were still unopened.

The Independent candidate, who spoke at his Fair oaks Boulevard headquarters on election night, told supporters “We’ve all done our best and we must be patient. During the campaign I’ve met wonderful people – people who are working hard because they really care about the County. That’s given me lots of hope for the future and I hope I’ll be there at County level to support their efforts.” Desmond noted apparent ballot trends and expressed optimism. “We might not know the final results until next week,” he said. My wife and I plan to go away for a few days. Yes, they’ll be anxious days and I might be on the phone a lot. But we’ll try to relax.”

Gregg Fishman (D) spent Tuesday night quietly at home, watching election coverage with his wife. “It was a different experience than what I had hoped for eight months ago,” he said. “I feel optimistic about the results, but it’s too early to say.” In the meantime, the candidate is helping to organize the collection of thousands of campaign signs littering Sacramento streets. This Saturday, he’ll join volunteers delivering these now redundant objects to the Habitat for Humanity store (819 N 10th St, Sacramento). That afternoon, anyone may go to the store and nab as many of the corrugated plastic placards (for art projects or other use) as they want. “They’re not recyclable, unfortunately,” explains Fishman. “But they’re made of durable material and they’re good for something.  We want to try to keep as many out of the landfill as possible.”

Learn about signage disposal by emailing Fishman at [email protected]