Aug. 25—Just last year, Jordan Yutzy became the city manager of Española, earning a six-figure salary.
Now, according to a new whistleblower lawsuit, Yutzy is out of a job because he stood up against unethical and "improper conduct" by Española's mayor and former city councilor John Ramon Vigil.
The conduct allegedly included the mayor violating hiring rules and personally calling upon city workers to do his bidding.
For instance, Yutzy's lawsuit alleges Vigil demanded that city workers cut weeds on private property because "the Mayor's dog had gotten stickers in its fur."
Vigil also told city workers to replace more than $1,000 in street signs around his house and used city vehicles after hours, the lawsuit stated.
Vigil, who didn't immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit, took office in April 2022, then becoming Española's youngest elected mayor at age 26.
Yutzy's attorney, Jacob Candelaria, couldn't be reached on Friday.
The lawsuit, filed in 1st Judicial District Court in Rio Arriba County, names the city and Vigil as defendants.
Yutzy served as the city manager of the town of Eunice from 2019 until the summer of 2022, when he was hired in Española.
In the lawsuit, Yutzy contends he objected to Vigil's attempts to control the hiring and firing decisions of city staff.
The lawsuit alleges that Vigil forbade him from "hiring an applicant for the position of Community Development Director because the applicant was from Santa Clara Pueblo." He did so...
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