KINGMAN – Kingman Vice Mayor Travis Lingenfelter defended himself when a citizen implied he engaged in a conflict of interest involving Rickety Crickety Brewing proprietor Terry Thomson. Citizen Donna Gahan spoke during the call to the public portion of the September 17 council meeting.
Gahan said Lingenfelter and Thomson had collaborated with an experimental beer and that it was out of bounds for the Vice Mayor to have spoken and voted in favor of an encroachment permit that the council approved earlier this month.
“My understanding is that Travis Lingenfelter provides Rickety Cricket with this product Dr. C and he also voted last council meeting for the favor of Rickety Cricket,” Gahan said. “How is that not a conflict of interest and why didn’t he recuse himself.”
Lingenfelter offered a detailed explanation involving his company’s Vitamin C marketing.
“I actually donate a lot of product to a lot of different vendors in town for their different causes. About two years ago Rickety Cricket, they reached out to me. I donated some product to them because they were doing some sort of a beer experiment. They wanted a Vitamin C infused beer. So I donated some product to them. Not one cent has ever changed hands,” Lingenfelter said.
“I am not a fool. I know as an elected official when I’m supposed to recuse myself when I have a financial interest and there was no financial interest there at all,” he said. The Vice Mayor added that he supports downtown business ventures and that he will continue to do so.