Live updates from Somos 2025

Every year, win or lose, high or low, the Democratic political class returns to San Juan for the Somos conference. We’re reporting live from all the receptions, pool parties and late night chats. 

Wednesday

11:30 a.m. – Packed airplanes of sleep-deprived politicos are headed down to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday morning. On the heels of a dizzying mayoral race – and with a breakneck transition period already underway – New York’s political power players have plenty to discuss. Among the pressing topics: Who will be the next speaker of the City Council? Who will join Zohran Mamdani’s administration – and which, if any, of the current Adams administration official might be asked to stay on apart from NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch?

Some people on the City & State flight who might have some opinions include City Council speaker candidate Julie Menin, Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Louis Molina, Mayor Eric Adams’ chief of staff Camille Joseph Varlack and Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar. Also spotted: Assembly Members Kalman Yeger and Grace Lee, New York Immigration Coalition President and CEO Murad Awawdeh, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council Political Director Bhav Tibrewal and New York City Council Member-elect Harvey Epstein.

But state Attorney General Letitia James stole the show at the JFK gate, eliciting an impromptu round of applause on arrival. She was in high spirits after Mamdani’s victory last night. “I’m feeling good,” she told City & State. “It’s a brand new day, a new dawning.” James promised to continue standing up to President Donald Trump, who had said he would send the National Guard to New York if Mamdani won. Trump tacitly endorsed Andrew Cuomo as an alternative to keep Mamdani out of office, though that obviously did not pan out.

And on the topic of Cuomo, James had some parting words for her onetime ally and more recent foe: “God bless you. Have a good life.”

– Annie McDonough, Rebecca C. Lewis and Sahalie Donaldson

10 a.m. – Drinks will flow unabated and without guilt into the wee hours of the morning at the Fairmont El San Juan hotel bar this week. For a minute, it looked like New York politicos’ favorite late night spot might be taken out of the rotation, thanks to a planned boycott by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and Unite Here, Local 610 over a contract dispute. Several dozen elected officials signed on, but the situation stood to put politicians with hefty campaign chests and well-heeled lobbyists who had already booked rooms at the swanky hotel in an awkward position. Just a couple weeks before the conference, however, the hotel workers’ unions reached an agreement with the Fairmont that included the wage increases and benefits they were pushing for. We’ll see you at the bar. – Annie McDonough

9 a.m. – Assembly Member Karines Reyes, who is chair of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, talked with City & State about what she’s looking forward to this year. “I think the overall feeling will be more hopeful than it was last year. We can possibly make history in this mayoral election in New York. There will be moments to celebrate during this conference, and I think that’s a marked difference from last year’s.” Read more here. – Ralph R. Ortega

8 a.m. – Which City Council speaker candidate’s reception will be the most well-attended? Who will be seen angling for a job? Why does Somos still matter? We asked the experts, including Karines Reyes, Joe Borelli, Corey Johnson, Trip Yang, Yvette Buckner and Roberto Perez. Read more here. – Holly Pretsky