Despite his announcement on Dec. 18, that he would run for mayor again, former Española mayor Javier Sanchez will not be on the ballot in March. Instead, Mayor John Ramon Vigil will face former city councilor Dennis Tim Salazar for the city’s top job in the upcoming March 3 municipal election.
Vigil and Salazar joined 11 others on Tuesday, who filed for candidacy at Española City Hall. All but one candidate is either a current or former elected city official.
Salazar said he had been considering a run for mayor and decided to file when he learned Sanchez would not continue his campaign.
He is concerned about the direction of the city and the lawsuits filed against Vigil. There is a long list of issues, like homelessness and drug use within the community, and he wants to work more closely with the surrounding counties and pueblos to create change.
“Right now, I’ve seen so much division,” Salazar said. “I feel that there’s been a lot of unprofessionalism as well coming from the current mayor. There’s a lot of things that just don’t belong.”
Currently, Vigil is part of at least three lawsuits filed by former city employees alleging a range of behaviors from sexual harassment to discrimination.
Vigil decided to run after lots of reflection and speaking with community faith leaders.
When asked why voters should look past the lawsuits and other controversies during his term as mayor, Vigil said that he believes Española is a compassionate community.
Regardless of how they feel about him as a person, he said, he believes people know that he loves and is committed to the city.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” Vigil said. “I’ve made decisions that are questionable, but I believe I have the humility to ask others and seek out guidance. I haven’t made it no secret that a lot of individuals in the city that are former elected officials have always had a seat at the table, sharing advice and guidance.”
He also said he will no longer decline comment about issues he faces because people take advantage of his silence.
“This year, I decided that I’m not going to stay quiet anymore about individuals who try to tarnish me, who try to target me,” he said. “I believe that stories have been fabricated, people have filed false police reports in order to push a negative narrative in the media and I’m not going to tolerate that.”
Campaign
Salazar said the low voter turn out led to Sanchez losing to Vigil by just 64 votes in the 2022 election, and that he plans to increase those numbers.
“I’m going to give John Ramon a lot of credit,” he said. “I think he’s doing a lot to energize the base because … so many people are furious with him, so many people. And I think people are firsthand seeing how the city was and now how the city is.”
People want to voice that feeling, he said, and they can do it by voting for him.
Given the tight margin of victory in his last election, Vigil said he is ready for an old fashioned campaign that includes door knocking and speaking directly with the constituents.
“It comes down to relating to the people,” he said. “Connecting with the people and earning their trust each time at the polls because when the voter visits with you, and you visit with the voters, they’re placing their trust in you.”
Sanchez
Just after filing day officially ended at 5 p.m., Sanchez made a Facebook post that said he decided to not run for mayor.
“Due to an ambiguous technicality, questions arose regarding whether I could lawfully seek the office I previously held,” Sanchez wrote. “While I remain confident that we would have prevailed at the ballot box, it would have served neither the city, the voters, nor my supporters to spend much of a campaign tied up in legal proceedings simply to secure a place on the ballot.”
Salazar said that he fully supported Sanchez’s candidacy and was sad that he decided not to run.
District 1
Current District 1 Councilor Aaron Salazar will face off against Jacob Torres, who is known around the community for his work with NASA and for growing chile in space.
Torres is the only first-time candidate who filed on Tuesday.
“This election is consequential,” he said. “We are shrinking as a city, businesses have gone away, but the main thing is character. I feel like we need to be positive while working on behalf of the people in this city, and I don’t see that character in particular from the mayor.”
District 2
City Councilor Nanette Rodriguez is running for re-election against two former elected city officials: Michelle Martinez and Stephen Salazar.
Martinez was elected in 2014 after requesting a recount against Phil Chacon, who was initially declared the winner. The recount showed they tied and Martinez won the spot after winning the best two-out-of-three coin toss.
Stephen Salazar served as a municipal judge, but agreed to a permanent resignation in lieu of further disciplinary proceeding after an investigation by the state’s Judicial Standards Commission. According to court records, Stephen Salazar admitted to shoving another city employee at Lowe’s Home Improvement after they put a lollipop in his pocket as a prank. He took responsibility and said the event occurred during a particularly difficult time in his life when his father was in hospice care, court records state.
District 3
Denise Benavidez, the affordable housing administrator for Santa Fe County, was first elected to council in 2018. She did not file for re-election.
Manuel Martinez was the incumbent in the 2024 election against current councilor Felicia Archuleta-Toya, who he will serve alongside if he wins in March.
Floyd Archuleta currently serves as the vice chair of the city’s community development commission.
District 4
Mayor Pro Tem Justin Salazar-Torrez is running opposed.
Municipal Judge
District 2 Councilor Peggy Sue Martinez filed to run for municipal court judge against incumbent Judge Joseph Madrid.
If she wins, Peggy Sue Martinez will have to leave her position as a councilor. If she loses, she will maintain her seat on the council.