Kern County is not moving forward with a new operator for the Family Justice Center in what turned out to be an unusual series of events at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
The board did not muster up enough votes to install Bakersfield Recovery Services as the center’s operator, leaving the future in flux.
The backstory: Earlier this year, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office moved to cut ties with the Open Door Network, which had helped domestic violence victims through the center for nine years.
Open Door Network CEO Lauren Skidmore previously questioned the timing of the District Attorney’s Office’s decision to move on. Skidmore told The Sun in March that she received the cancellation notice just days after she publicly advocated for a bill in Sacramento that would change who can receive mental health diversions to avoid prosecution in the wake of former Supervisor Zack Scrivner’s case.
The piece that ties it together is that Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer is Scrivner’s aunt.
Zimmer’s office said in a statement at the time that it was unethical of Skidmore to make public comments on pending criminal cases.
Allegations then came to the forefront over the last couple of months accusing some county officials of accepting excessive campaign contributions from people associated with Bakersfield Recovery Services.
How it happened: The move to install Bakersfield Recovery Services as the operator of the Family Justice Center failed on a 2-1 vote.
Supervisor Leticia Perez was absent and three other supervisors had to recuse themselves from voting because they said they either had or may have received campaign contributions that would disqualify them from voting.
The county’s attorney suggested the supervisor draw names out of a jar to determine who could vote in order to meet a quorum. The county clerk drew the names of Supervisors Jeff Flores and Chris Parlier, who joined Supervisor Phillip Peters for the vote. Flores and Parlier had recused themselves.
Flores and Parlier voted in support of giving the contract to Bakersfield Recovery Services, while Peters voted against it.
The 2-1 vote failed because items need a majority of three votes out of the five-person board in order to pass, regardless of the number of supervisors who are actually able to vote on a single item.
What they’re saying: Peters told KGET in a statement that he voted against the contract because of the concerns surrounding the center over the last several months.
“As an elected official, I have a responsibility not only to ensure continuity of services, but also to safeguard public trust in the institutions that serve our community,” Peters said in the statement. “In weighing one against the other, the concerns brought up repeatedly by the public outweighed the benefit of approving the proposed lease agreement at this time. Victim services are still being provided, and all parties involved will now have the opportunity to engage further and determine a path forward that works for everyone.”