ROCK SPRINGS –– Sweetwater County Land Use Director Eric Bingham can add another title to his name: Rock Springs City Councilman.
Bingham was appointed to the Council Tuesday night following a near unanimous vote. The Ward 4 seat Bingham was appointed to was originally vacated by Brent Bettolo during the Council’s last meeting of 2024. The process was modified from the prior process used to appoint Councilman David Thompson in 2023, mainly in the change from utilizing a secret ballot to vote to Council members voting in an open roll call vote.
Bingham wasn’t the only resident of Ward 4 interested in the Council seat, as Square State Brewing Owner Cassandra Vincelette and retired FedEx Manager Ken McNalley also submitted letters of interest to the Council. The three candidates were interviewed by the Council prior to the appointment.
Bingham said he originally ran for a Ward 4 Council seat in 2020 against Councilman Randy Hanson, but was defeated in the election bid. In 2022, he opted not to seek election because of his work on the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, which he said he spent approximately a year and a half fighting. Beyond that, he has been involved in economic development in the county, saying he helped bring KelTek to Sweetwater County. He has also served on a number of boards, including a federal carbon capture board that meets in Washington, D.C. Bingham said he wants to help streamline processes in the city, improve community engagement through community engagement, promote fiscal responsibility, and promote infrastructure improvements.
Vincelette is a former school counselor who owns Square State Brewing with her husband Mike Hulen. Mental health is a primary concern for Vincelette, saying she’s happy with how the city has approached issues involving suicide within the community. She said city support for organizations and initiatives that aid in providing access to mental health would help the city become a better community. She said she supports the idea of helping residents and business owners become better connected with one another in the community, believing that providing connections is an important goal for the city. She said she opted not to seek election in 2024 because she was happy with how Bettolo represented the ward.
McNalley said he started his retirement Tuesday and wants to give back to the community through service on the Council. If appointed, he said he would want to help focus on communication, transparency and teamwork with other Council members. A major issue he wants to address is the city’s infrastructure and the upcoming economic boom being predicted to start soon. He said he would like to work with businesses coming to the area to help improve the city’s infrastructure. He also wants to work with businesses to find ways of avoiding buildings becoming run down eyesores. He said the reason he didn’t seek election previously was because he was busy with his job, saying he now has much more time to dedicate to new pursuits since retiring.
Councilman Rob Zotti nominated Bingham, based on his experience with government and land use, while Councilman Rick Milonas nominated McNalley because being retired means McNalley could dedicate more time to city business. Bingham received votes from Mayor Max Mickelson and each Council member aside from Milonas, who voted for McNalley.
