Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Jessica Ramos for NYC Mayor
Candidate Name: Jessica Ramos
Office Seeking Election for: NYC Mayor
Campaign Website: https://www.ramosfornyc.com/
1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?
I’m Jessica Ramos, the daughter of formerly undocumented immigrants from Colombia, a mom to two beautiful boys and a proud State Senator from Jackson Heights. I’m running to be the next mayor of New York City.
When I was a little girl, I saw the impact of poverty on my parents’ home country first hand, alongside the crack epidemic occurring in my own backyard. Even my own classmates found themselves pulled into drug trafficking as the New York Daily News dubbed us the “cocaine capital of the world.”
I saw and experienced things no child should. And when I became a mother, I promised my baby that I’d do everything in this world to give him the childhood I couldn’t have - that our community would be safe for him.
Every day, I go to work to keep that promise - not just for my babies, but for all of ours.
I got my start in a lawyer’s office after my dad had a car accident. I answered the phone when he was expecting a call and he hired me on the spot because he loved my demeanor so much. For seven years I answered that phone during the summers, helping workers, immigrants, and parents through the vulnerable points in their lives.
Eventually, I found myself working in the City Council under Hiram Monserrate, who wouldn’t even pay me minimum wage. Fast forward to today, and the community that raised me sent me to fill his former seat in the state senate. I’ve now written more labor law than any labor chair before me, all while leading on issues from hunger to homeownership to hurricane relief.
I’m running for mayor of NYC because we need to get serious about addressing income inequality. We’ve never truly had one of our own as mayor and I don’t trust anyone beholden to special interests to understand what we’ve been through and help us thrive in this city.
Help me keep the promise of New York City, not just for my babies, but yours too - because I’ll never stop fighting like a mother.
2. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally? What LGBTQ candidates have you endorsed?
a. Organizations: Jim Owles Democratic Club, New Pride Agenda, Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo, Love Wins Food Pantry, Queens Community House Center for Gay Seniors, Stonewall Democratic Club
b. Michael Goldman (judicial candidate), Tiffany Caban, Thomas Wright-Fernandez (judicial candidate), Erik Bottcher, Chi Ossé, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Lynn Schulman, Danny Dromm, Jimmy Van Bramer
3. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all literature and electronic materials?
a. Yes - enthusiastically
4. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump?
a. Annual presence at the Queens Pride parade
b. I am a proud and vocal cosponsor of every bill that expands reproductive justice, LGBTQ equality,
5. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?
a. Democrats need to stop bringing a handshake to a gunfight. That’s why I introduced the RECOURSE Act, which would allow New York State to leverage its position as a donor state, and withhold our taxpayer dollars when the Trump Administration crosses a line. We need real tools to fight back, not just fiery rhetoric.
b. As Senator, I have done a lot of work to build up our labor law and support efforts to enshrine LGBTQ+ and gender equality into our state’s laws, only to watch a Trump Democrat sell out my immigrant and LGBTQ neighbors to save his own skin. The next Mayor needs to be ready to think creatively, proactively defend New Yorkers, and use every tool in the toolkit to keep our city, our funding, and our people safe.
6. Will you seek or accept endorsements of individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, such as Ruben Diaz Sr., Fernando Cabrera or Erick Salgado? Will you pledge to denounce their homophobia and anti-choice positions in the event you receive an endorsement from such individuals?
a. I will not seek or accept their endorsement, and I will always denounce bigotry.
7. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?
a. I ran for senate in 2018 because my local state senator betrayed our community by joining the IDC. The IDC, in collusion with Cuomo, held up important funding and landmark legislation that would improve the quality of life for my neighbors. After I beat him and won my seat, the first bill I co-sponsored was the Reproductive Health Act.
b. Reproductive care and abortion is essential health care. I will always defend the right to health care.
8. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?
a. Yes! Not only have I helped welcome Drag Story Hour in my district, but I have also stood outside the library to create a human barrier between the children who wish to attend Drag Story Hour and the bigots who came to my neighborhood to intimidate and harass my community.
9. What proposals will do you support to increase the protection of immigrants and cement New York City’s status as a Sanctuary City?
a. As Mayor, I am responsible for directing the NYPD. The first thing I will do is remove the NYPD from street vendor enforcement. The criminal summons the NYPD have been issuing to street vendors who, through no fault of their own, are unable to access vending permits from the city are putting people at risk of deportation. Instead, I would formalize the vending system, creating a new stream of sales tax revenue for the city and economic opportunity for immigrant entrepreneurs.
b. Additionally, I would remove ICE from Rikers. It is critical to remember that Rikers is a facility for pre-trial detention, so it is inappropriate for ICE to have access to people who have not yet been convicted of crimes and are thus ineligible for deportation under our current sanctuary city laws.
c. Finally, I would build up ActionNYC - a free, 24 hour legal aid hotline for immigration law questions. This program needs to be as accessible as 311.
d. The best defense against ICE terrorizing our neighborhoods is for people to know their rights. When ICE descended onto my community, I put out Know Your Rights information in English, Spanish, Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, and Mandarin. It will be critical that the next Mayor is adept at reaching New Yorkers in all the languages they speak and in the outlets where they look for trusted information.
10. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?
11. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2970, introduced by Council Member Shahana Hanif? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text urges the NYS Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would ensure state and local resources are not used to facilitate federal immigration enforcement. If not, please explain.
a. I am a cosponsor of New York for All in the State Legislature. On the very first day of session, I joined with advocates, neighbors, and my colleagues to demand that we pass this bill this year. It is more critical than ever.
12. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2917, introduced by Council Member Crystal Hudson? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text endorses the Access to Representation Act, which would establish a “universal right to counsel” for indigent New Yorkers who are subject to removal proceedings under federal immigration law. If not, please explain.
a. NA
13. Will you join our efforts to pass legislation mandating the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to
determine if they warrant release? The legislation is commonly known as the New York Elder Parole Bill.
a. I am a proud cosponsor of the entire package of Parole Justice bills, including Elder Parole.
14. Do you oppose the death penalty?
a. Yes
15. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?
a. Yes
16. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated? Will you work to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, worked toward rehabilitation and are not deemed a threat to society?
a. When I was a child, my father ran a prison visitation program to connect with Colombian men who were incarcerated, far from their homes and their families. I have been visiting jails and prisons consistently throughout my life, and even participate in regular court watch. As an elected official, I think it is an important part of my official duties. As Mayor, I would take that oversight over our City prisons very seriously, and regularly visit city jails, both on announced and unannounced visits, to check the working conditions of the staff and the living conditions of the people incarcerated there.
17. Do you commit to working to change our penal system toward a restorative rather than a retributive model of justice?
a. Yes, if we want to interrupt cycles of harm and curb recidivism, we need to shift the paradigm of our penal system to balance both justice and accountability. To this end, I have been championing the expansion of problem-solving, treatment, and mental health courts across New York State for years in the state senate.
b. Our general safety net, of which the criminal legal system is just one part, needs to be equipped to address the causes of harm, connect people to services, and honor victims by making sure the harm is not repeated. What is abundantly clear is that Rikers is not an effective place to try and deliver mental health services. People often come out in a worse state than they were when they went in. We need to seriously build out our mental health infrastructure so we can intervene before people hurt themselves or others, and so we can connect people to the actual rehabilitation and treatment they need.
18. Do you commit to make applications for clemencies available to your constituency including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?
a. Yes.
19. . Who did you support for mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary election?
a. I originally endorsed Scott Stringer. I later withdrew my endorsement and focused my endorsement efforts on down ballot races.
20. Which 2025 Democratic candidates have you removed from your consideration? Have you endorsed anyone? If so, who?
a. I am encouraging everyone to leave Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo off their ballot entirely.
21. Do you support the renaming of the Ed Koch bridge and will you work towards the renaming including sponsoring such legislation?
a. I would love to work with New Yorkers to take recommendations of New Yorkers who deserve to be recognized in this way. I hope, if elected, I can work with the JOLDC on this.
22. What are your plans to address rent affordability in NYC? Did you vote for “City of Yes”? If not, please explain.
a. I am a rent-stabilized tenant, and it has allowed me to stay in New York and raise two children in the same apartment for 15 years. I support a rent freeze, and have a plan to make it economically feasible for landlords. We need to rightsize our property tax system so that we are not laying the majority of the property tax burden on tenants and former red-lined neighborhoods. That property tax reform will also incentivize the construction of more affordable housing, which we desperately need.
b. I was not in the Council, so I could not vote for City of Yes, but I supported the bulk of the changes, particularly the additions the Council made to include funding for tenant protections, infrastructure upgrades, and support for paths to homeownership. It was a shame that the Mayor waited until year three of his administration to try and tackle the housing crisis, and zoning reform on its own will not make housing more affordable.
c. We have relied on tax breaks as our main tool to build housing, and it has not yielded the affordable housing that we so desperately need. We cannot afford to wait for trickle down housing. I am also proposing a workforce housing plan, where we leverage union pension funds, public land, and the city capital funds to build modest-equity homeownership opportunities, freeing up rental units and allowing essential workers to plant roots and own a piece of the city they love.
23. What are your plans regarding short-term housing?
a. I would like to shift our City’s approach to emergency housing to shift away from the shelter model towards a stronger emphasis on supportive housing model. My mental health platform includes plans to drastically increase the number of supportive housing units, and instill workforce development services as part of a comprehensive set of wraparound services.
b. Short-term housing will still be necessary. The City needs to be prepared to care for people who are displaced during climate emergencies, domestic violence,
fires and other disasters. That said, the City also needs to be laser focused on getting people out of temporary shelter into permanent housing first, and being a more proactive matchmaker between landlords with vacant units and New Yorkers who need homes.
24. Do you support fully divesting city pension funds from Tesla?
a. Yes
25. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why should we believe you would be a dynamic and progressive voice in elected office?
a. New Yorkers are tired of working and working and working and not seeing the results of their work bear fruit. We are losing faith in our institutions, and the revolving door of scandal-marred men who keep coming back and asking voters to trust them is not helping.
b. I am a progressive who has a record of delivering more than rhetoric. I am running for Mayor because I have both the lived experience of a working-class New Yorker and the professional experience of someone who has been delivering for my neighbors in 20 years of public service. I’ve delivered historic bills that people told me were impossible - from raising and indexing the minimum wage to a first-of-its kind $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund. I’m going to fight like a mother to deliver for the city where I was born, raised, and am raising my children.
26. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?
a. NYC is about to be one-third Latino. There has never been a Latino city-wide elected official, or a Latina Mayor. Jim Owles is a brave club that is famous for voting with their values. I would be honored if Jim Owles weighed in to shake up this race to help me make history for our city.
27. Are you a potential candidate for City Council speaker in the upcoming term? If so, what is your platform?
a. NA