Kern County voters will have an opportunity to vote for a permanent successor to former Supervisor Zack Scrivner in November.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to set the election for the District 2 seat on Nov. 5.
Flashback: Scrivner resigned from the board last week around three months after he was stabbed twice in the torso by one of his sons at his Tehachapi home.
- Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said at the time that one of Scrivner’s sons stabbed the former supervisor in order to protect a sibling from being sexually assaulted.
- There have not been any criminal charges filed against Scrivner, and the Attorney General’s Office is currently investigating.
The big picture: With Scrivner resigning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a new supervisor, according to county law.
- The Newsom appointee will hold office until an election is held for a new supervisor.
- Prospective candidates for the Nov. 5 election have until Aug. 9 to qualify for the ballot.
- The county cannot extend the deadline past Aug. 9 because there is no incumbent in the race choosing not to run. Rather, Scrivner resigned, making the seat vacant.
- The candidate that is elected will serve the remainder of Scrivner’s term, which runs through 2026.
What they’re saying: “I think that it’s particularly egregious myself that this didn’t happen sooner and didn’t leave District 2 with more time to go through this process in a more robust way,” said Supervisor Phillip Peters. “That being said, I think two years is a long time to leave District 2 residents without leadership that they’ve been able to vote on.”
- Supervisor Jeff Flores added, “I think it’s fundamentally important in terms of representation and Democracy that we allow the citizens of District 2 to have a say in the matter. In respect of the timeframe that we’ve been presented with, that district deserves to choose their next supervisor.”
