By JOHN RAMON VIGIL
Mayor of Española
There is an old saying, “there is strength in unity, and in unity there is progress…” Nothing can be stated that is more similar to the truth when discussing this in the aspects of our federal, state and local government systems. Most importantly these words should be valued even more so at the local government level where our citizens expect that of our local bodies of jurisdiction.
During my first two years serving as Mayor of Española, the Española City Council was evenly divided and it prevented the adoption of much needed ordinances and general consensus regarding projects that benefitted the entire City rather than focusing on specific districts. In March 2024, the City Council underwent significant change at the polls with the election of three new councilors to the governing body. Since that time the City has adopted a well thought out Infrastructure Capital Improvement Project (ICIP) List; planning and development for a new Santa Cruz Park in the Santa Fe County area of our community; construction of a new major arterial roadway linking our two major Eastside roadways; as well as various planning and design for our Capital Improvement Projects including significant funding allocation to support and retain our police officers. We still have a long way to go with infrastructure, public safety, and housing development planning but we have made great strides in the past few months.
Finally, the Española City Council can come to a general consensus for community progress – with most of the Council’s most recent major decisions being a near unanimous gesture with almost all decisions being adopted on a 7-1 or 6-2 vote. This is important for the development of our City for the present and future as working together for the benefit of the public.
I am constantly reminded by members of the community it is frustrating to hear when the City Council does not work together as they see the effects of this and the stalemate that comes along with it. The general public is often dissuaded by the fact of individual Councilors attempting to use the rostrum to voice their distaste in who the Mayor is, their recurring negative remarks about City staff, and also perpetuating the negative stereotypes that have affected our community for generations, rather than focusing on addressing the persistent pothole or the acequia that requires cleaning now to irrigate the fields of our ancianos. The citizens are more concerned with action happening in their community rather than loaded bureaucratic words using life experiences not even relevant to the issues of small-town local government such as Española.
It is often difficult and complicated for eight councilors to work well with city administrative staff such as the key positions of City Manager and City Clerk but it has been definitely possible with open channels of communication. It is unfortunate that one of our eight members of the Governing Body has created a hostile and tumultuous relationship with the City Manager; further hampering the ability for our City to move forward. The same councilor also told one of the other newly elected councilors at their inauguration ceremony that it was his desire that, “…the east side councilors need to work together to block the west side.” Comments such as these are detrimental to the development of our community. Española has come a long way since the geographical and historical divide of our community split by the meandering Rio Grande. We are not divided by Council Districts, rather we are all “One Española” and boundaries of a Council District do not seem to be an underlying crutch for the other members of the Governing Body. All Councilors should be aware that they have an ethical and moral duty to the entire municipality before their own districts and personal interests.
Española is a very old community rooted in tradition and culture, it has evolved in a way that the area has seen settlement for hundreds of years whether by the Tewa peoples or the Spanish colonizers who arrived in 1598. It is bordered by two historical Pueblos on the north and the south and throughout the municipal limits; it also is located within the two counties of Rio Arriba and Santa Fe. Many of our residents, such as myself, still reside on the property that was first purchased by our ancestors several decades ago. With that historical connection to the land, our City has emerged in a way that is not typical of a municipality of our size; specifically lacking infrastructure such as water and sewer and dedicated public roadways.
Next year, the City of Española celebrates its centennial anniversary as a municipality, I believe we owe it to our constituents to end the bureaucracy and bickering on the City Council and focus on the development of infrastructure projects and public safety initiatives across the City – regardless if you live on the East or West sides of the Rio Grande.
Editor’s note: John Ramon Vigil is the current Mayor of Española serving since 2022; prior to that he served on the Española City Council from 2018-2022.
