Kern County supervisor resigns amid criminal probe and allegations of sexual assault
A Kern County supervisor, under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his children, has resigned.
The Thursday night announcement by Supervisor Zack Scrivner came while the California attorney general’s office is reviewing a criminal case against Scrivner, who has avoided public appearances since the allegations were raised in April.
In a letter to Kern County Supervisor Chairman David Couch, Scrivner made no mention of the allegations or the looming criminal investigation. Instead, Scrivner said he was resigning due to “significant health and medical reasons.”
His resignation was effective Friday.
“Serving the people of Kern County since 2011 has been the honor of my lifetime,” read the letter, obtained by The Times.
Scrivner started his political career as a member of the Bakersfield City Council. He was elected to the county’s board of supervisors in 2011, where he served as chairman in 2012, 2017 and 2022.
Alexander Vanny, 33, was arrested after the woman told a colleague he’d assaulted her on Friday, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
But on April 25, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said deputies had been called to Scrivner’s home that week after receiving a call that the county supervisor was armed and having, “some type of psychotic episode.”
The call, Youngblood said, came from Kern County Dist. Atty. Cynthia Zimmer, who is also Scrivner’s aunt.
When deputies arrived, Scrivner was found to have been stabbed twice by one of his children, allegedly protecting one of their siblings, Youngblood said during the news conference.
In their investigation, deputies heard allegations that Scrivner had sexually assaulted one of his underage children. All of Scrivner’s four underage children were at the home at the time, but Youngblood declined to release the ages of the children, or which were involved in the incident.
Scrivner’s wife, who had filed for divorce in March, was not at the home.
Gage Mason pleaded guilty to all counts and ‘aggravating factors’ against him on June 5, according to the Fresno County district attorney’s office.
Scrivner’s attorney, H.A. Sala, told KGET 17 at the time that the allegations were false and that Scrivner was undergoing a mental health crisis at the time. He said the stabbing occurred when one of his children tried to disarm him.
Sala did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Friday, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a criminal case was submitted to the California attorney general’s office.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said the case is still under review.
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