Chris Smith: Have you heard about the former newsman who’s running for county supervisor?

There’s a former journalist who’s today wearing out shoe leather in pursuit of election as a county supervisor. And he’s not the guy you’re thinking of.

Penngrove native Gregg Fishman is in a five-way race for a seat on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors that opened up with the retirement announcement of 16-year incumbent Susan Peters.

Fishman grew up on a chicken farm northeast of Petaluma and graduated in Rancho Cotate High’s Class of 1977.

Fond of saying, “I’ve got a face for radio,” he worked for years as a reporter and anchor with news-talk stations KGO in San Francisco and KFBK in Sacramento.

Similarly to Chris Coursey, who left The Press Democrat to become a spokesman for the campaign to fund a Sonoma-?Marin Area Rail Transit commuter train, Fishman transitioned from journalism to speaking for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Look at that. One former newsman went to SMART, the other to SMUD.

Coursey later won election to the Santa Rosa City Council and now he’s challenging Sonoma County 3rd District Supervisor Shirlee Zane.

Ex-news broadcaster and candidate for Sacramento County supervisor Fishman has served since 2015 on the SMUD board of directors.

On Sunday, he celebrated his 60th birthday by gathering with about 20 family members at a park in Fair Oaks, then leading them in some door-to-door campaign canvassing.

Among his guests was brother Bill Fishman, a Petaluma attorney, and Bill’s wife, Maggie, an SRJC trustee.

They and the others at the pre-canvassing birthday party in the park discovered something about Fair Oaks: the town is aflutter with wild chickens.

Spying them, the Sonoma County Fishmans all had the same thought:

This is just like being back at the old, family poultry farm on Penngrove’s Dutch Lane.

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NEEDS A LIFT: Teresa ?de la O has a hobby not common to women 82 years old.

The retired Sonoma County attorney is a power lifter. She holds an age-bracket world record for bending, grasping a barbell weighing 65 kilos - 143.3 pounds - and lifting it as she stands to her full height.

Though she owns the world record, she said, “I want another one.”

At a U.S. Powerlifting Association event Saturday in Napa, she qualified to travel in June to the world competition in Columbus, Ohio, and attempt to better her own record.

Why? Only because it’s fun.

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2020 STARTED LATE for Dave Pinsky.

Last October, a domestic chore caused the retired Air Force colonel and former Santa Rosa deputy director of utilities and chief of the Pacific Coast Air Museum to ascend a 10-foot ladder.

Pinsky was doing some painting at the Rincon Valley home he and his wife, Betty, purchased after the Tubbs fire destroyed their townhouse in Fountaingrove. He has no memory of falling and striking his head on the sidewalk.

His heart stopped during one of his surgeries, and he was hooked to a ventilator through four months in hospitals and a recovery center.

His new year - his new life - began just weeks ago when he walked into his and Betty’s home unassisted.

No more ladders.

You can contact Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.