Mayor Vigil is a native of Española’s historic West Side, the son of Carmela Salazar and the grandson of the late Ramon & Alberta Salazar; the longtime owners of Block-Salazar Mortuary. A fourth generation resident of The West Side, he has generations of family history also in the Valley communities of Ranchitos, Chamita and Santo Niño.
John Ramon obtained a degree in History from New Mexico Highlands University and was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez to the university’s Board of Regents to serve as the student Regent from 2017-2019.

Elected in 2018, he became an Española City Councilor for District 2 - at 22 years old - becoming the youngest person to serve on the city council. He was appointed in 2020 to serve on the Board of Trustees for Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative upon the passing of his great-uncle and godfather, David R. Salazar. In this role, Vigil is the representative for the western communities along the Rio Grande on the Cooperative’s board of directors and is a graduate of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Credentialed Cooperative Director Program. He was subsequently elected in 2021 to serve on that body in his own right.

Vigil was elected Mayor of the beautiful Española Valley in March 2022 - at age 26 - becoming the youngest mayor in the history of Española and currently the youngest in the State of New Mexico. He is staunchly committed to promoting Española as a wonderful place to live, work, and play! Most importantly he is dedicated to capitalizing on the culture, heritage and caring attitude that makes the beautiful Española Valley stand out amongst the rest. He attributes this to his childhood of being raised in the City’s oldest neighborhood where it truly took a village to raise him and entrust him later as a community leader.
Some of John Ramon’s most treasured learning moments in public service come from the teaching and wisdom of his mentors, longtime Jemez Mtns. Electric Cooperative Trustee David R. Salazar and longtime Española Mayor Richard Lucero.