City of Bakersfield, CA.

Bakersfield is a city in Southern California, near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County. The city is about two hours from Los Angeles and is inland about two hours from the Pacific Ocean and popular beaches such as Pismo Beach. Bakersfield is the 9th largest city in California and the county seat for Kern County. Kern County is the most productive oil producing county and the fourth most productive agricultural county in the United States. Bakersfield uses the Council-Manager form of government, in which the City Council is the primary governing authority. City Council consists of seven members elected from seven wards. The Mayor is elected at large and is the presiding member of the City Council.