I am constantly reminded by some of our ancianos about the more prosperous days of our City and its very storied past. The days of shopping at People’s Department Store where the current Plaza de Española exists; grocery shopping at the old Foodway/JW Owens Supermarket on Oñate; or my own personal memories of TG&Y at Big Rock Center with my grandmother Alberta are all memories of a past Española we wish we could return to! Presently my office receives dozens of phone calls daily regarding the aggressive solicitation taking place in our current commercial areas throughout the City. We should never have to fear about being able to do our errands safely in our community. It saddens me when I have to hear from female friends that they feel very insecure visiting any of our local businesses around dusk; I find this to be extremely shameful and does not represent our community.
The passage of the Solicitation Ordinance in November 2022 was planned to create an atmosphere where customers could shop with comfort and ease. We recognize we have made some bold progress and I applaud the Governing Body for having the foresight and intestinal fortitude to make tough decisions in the benefit of the public welfare. While it has worked and made significant progress, our limited numbers with the police department have made it difficult to fully enforce. It is important that we recognize that three-fourths (3/4) of the financial budget for the cities and towns of New Mexico is solely based on gross receipts tax revenue. Even more difficult to conceptualize is the possibility that the State of New Mexico during this Legislative Session may roll back additional gross receipts tax imposition that will severely impact already struggling municipal governments. Yet again, I reiterate the importance of shopping local and the relevance it has to providing basic services in our community such as police, fire, roads, and other community amenities we enjoy while living in an incorporated area.
Our community has historically been known for its compassionate heart and the commitment we have to our fellow individuals is attributed a lot to our upbringing in our faith. Unfortunately, this compassion is sometimes taken advantage of. Contributing directly to individuals will only perpetuate the problems we see in our commercial corridors because it is condoning this atmosphere to be acceptable. I encourage the public to instead of giving monetary contributions to consider supporting one of the many non-profit charities that assist the less fortunate in our community such as St. Vincent de Paul Ministries of Santa Cruz de la Cañada or Sacred Heart of Jesus parishes; San Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen, or Compassion Through Action and countless others! These entities are hardworking non-profit organizations committed to assisting our less fortunate populations and providing them the resources needed for recovery and transitional assistance for success. Additionally, they have some very dedicated and committed community volunteers who believe in their respective organizational mission and goals and the vision for a greater Española Valley for us all.
For us to grow and become a successful Valley, we need to be able to incorporate all elements of our daily lives to becoming responsible citizens for our community’s progress. We have to make investments to be vested within Española – Believe in Our Valley, Love Our Valley!
John Ramon Vigil is the mayor of the City of Española and a board of trustee member of Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, Inc.