Jessica Ramos, a progressive Queens state Senator, on Friday officially became the latest candidate to jump into the 2025 race to unseat Mayor Eric Adams, who finds himself in a precarious position after his second police commissioner resigned Thursday following federal raids on several top administration officials last week.
Ramos, a Democrat who has served in Albany’s upper chamber since 2019, launched her bid in an online video posted early Friday morning after rumors flew that she was mulling a run for nearly a year.
The state lawmaker, who has long been one of Adams’ sharpest critics, kicked off her video by directly comparing the high-stakes presidential race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump to next year’s increasingly crowded mayoral contest.
“This year, we’re fighting for the heart and soul of our nation,” Ramos said in the video just before it cut to a short clip of Harris speaking at the Democratic National Convention. “And in 2025, we’re fighting for the heart and soul of the City of New York.”
Ramos also highlighted her background as the daughter of Colombian immigrants. She grew up in Astoria, Queens, and says she has a deep love for the five boroughs. She pointed to progressive legislative wins she was a part of in Albany, including raising the minimum wage and strengthening tenant protections.
Ramos, in an interview with amNewYork Metro, said she is running for mayor to once again make New York City more livable for working-class families — something she said the current mayor is failing to do.
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“I’m running for mayor of the City of New York because I love my city, because I’m raising two boys in the city that raised me, and I want working families to have a fighting chance to reach their dreams in our city,” she said. “That just doesn’t seem like the case right now, under the current administration.”
Ramos took direct aim at Adams, whose mayoralty is under a cloud of what appears to be four separate federal investigations into various figures in his orbit.
Adams’ second NYPD commissioner, Edward Caban, stepped down from the job Thursday after having his home searched and phones seized in connection to one of the probes last week.
She charged those inquiries have prevented the mayor from running an effective government that can deliver vital services to millions of New Yorkers.
“They’re distracted by too many scandals,” Ramos said. “It’s not letting them pick up garbage and paint potholes. It has allowed them to enter into an unnecessary and antiquated budget dance that has defunded our schools. We are not building affordable housing on pace to meet our needs over the next decade.”
With her announcement, Ramos becomes just the latest candidate and the first woman in a packed field vying to take on Adams from the left. She joins her state Senate colleague Zellnor Myrie (Brooklyn), city Comptroller Brad Lander and his predecessor Scott Stringer — who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2021.
But while Ramos is a skilled politician and communicator, she has little name recognition outside Queens and virtually no money in her city campaign account. Those realities could put her at a disadvantage compared to the other three declared candidates, who have been fundraising for months and showed strong numbers in a July filing.
However, she expressed confidence that she would be able to quickly catch up with fundraising and name recognition.
“I announced today because I, of course, want to make the October filing. I am hoping to do so in a way that proves that many New Yorkers feel invested in my vision for City Hall,” she said. “I’m gonna hit the streets. You’re going to see me out there at train stations, at farmers markets, you name it.”
