The third time running for Hermosa Beach City Council proved to be the charm for Planning Commissioner Peter Tucker who emerged as the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s election.

According to unofficial results provided by the county, Tucker pulled a little more than 25 percent of the vote or 1,358 votes to seal one of two open seats.

“I never gave up on the city even when I lost in previous races,” said Tucker. “I think I have a lot to offer and I want to be able to bring the community together. I think I was the people’s candidate so to speak, and I think my track record spanning 20 years of service to the city really showed people that I love this city and I’ve continued to remain active even when I wasn’t an elected official.”

“I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say. I don’t think there’s ever been a race this close in Hermosa Beach,” said Fishman. “I’m very disappointed, but I ran the best race I could. It was a very exciting yet very exhausting experience. I had a lot of supporters who helped me with my campaign and I want to thank all of them, especially my wife and son. It appears as though I’ve fallen just a tad short. It’s just incredible, and I’m very pleased the people in the community thought so highly of me and provided me with so many votes. My congratulations to the victors and I trust they will do what they can to better serve the interests of the people in this community.”

As for Edgerton, he is not worried about a change in votes and believes the results will keep him in second place, claiming he experienced a lot of success with absentee votes in the past.

“It was the last-second buzzer shot and it is what it is,” said Edgerton. “It was a crazy finish. I want to congratulate Peter Tucker who ran a stellar, clean campaign. It is a good example of how you win elections. I think I was victorious because I think people like me. I get things done and I don’t make pie-in-the-sky speeches. I spent 10 hours Sunday correcting three libelous hit mailers that were sent out against me and I’m just amazed how vicious people can be.”

Although Edgerton is ahead by two votes, the results are still unofficial until all absentee votes and provisional votes that may be circulating are counted. Absentee votes by military personnel overseas or that have been postmarked later in the election will still need to be counted, along with provisional votes which are votes that are contested. These votes usually come in the form of those people whose names are not listed on official voting records and need to be further researched before the vote is considered valid.

Tucker said his campaign mostly revolved around walking from door to door introducing himself to residents, some of who were quite surprised by the hard work he put into securing votes.

“I spent a lot of time walking. I talked to residents who had been living in town for 25 years and had never answered the door to a candidate willing to share their views. They told me because of that they would vote for me,” said Tucker. “I know that recently many residents have expressed an animosity for the city. I want to be able to bury the hatchet and bring residents, business owners and the city closer together.”

Candidate Charlie Cheatham was in fourth place in the election with 1,014 votes. Public Works Commissioner Cheatham had a tough time in recent months due to a campaign contribution letter he sent out to various prospective companies wishing to do business with the city’s Public Works Department. In the campaign contribution letter, Cheatham introduced himself and informed companies, some of which have actually done business in Hermosa Beach, of his running for City Council. Although not illegal, some perceived the letter as highly unethical.

“It was a long, hard campaign,” said Cheatham. “One has to have a lot of fortitude to campaign for a position like this. I experienced a lot of negative campaigning, as I know Sam Edgerton did as well, and that’s unfortunate. I think a few more mailers would have helped me since I did talk to people who didn’t feel comfortable voting for me because they felt they didn’t know me well enough. As far as running again, it’s too early to tell.”

Of the remaining candidates, Alan Benson, who is a post-production supervisor and recently founded the Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association, received 279 votes. Richard Gebele, a commercial real estate broker and developer, earned 245 votes while David Cohn, an investment banker, secured 161 votes.

The Los Angeles County Registrar/ Recorder’s Office Wednesday morning was unable to give the final tally of how many residents voted in Tuesday’s election. However, given the number of ballots cast in other races, it appears an estimated 3,400 of the city’s 13,183 voters participated in the election.

All results are unofficial until final verification by the county. The process usually takes about two weeks.