Somos
Live blog: Somos 2026
The latest from this year’s conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The view from the Caribe Hilton. Jeff Coltin
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Greetings from San Juan, Puerto Rico! Members of City & State’s team are covering this year’s Somos conference. We’ll keep you updated on the latest sightings, gossip and much more at El Caribe Hilton. Check back for frequent updates throughout the conference.
Thursday, 5:40 p.m. – Heastie: Jury still out on next Assembly majority leader
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he’ll be speaking with his members in the coming weeks to select a new majority leader. He’s staying tight-lipped about who’s on the shortlist of potential replacements for retiring Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.
“I do not know yet,” Heastie said when asked who’s at the top of his list.
The speaker plans to talk to prospective interested leaders in the next few weeks.
“There’s a lot of great members that can do the job, and I can only pick one, but there’s a lot of good people,” he added.
But he said he won’t just entertain choosing a new leader from upstate. Many lawmakers believe it’s important to have geographic diversity among conference leadership.
“I think it’s who is a good match, you know, for the conference,” he exclusively told City & State. “We have a very diverse conference. There’s committee chairmanships all across the state, and I know people believe that, symbolically, it’s been upstate, but I’m not saying it’s not going to be. I also think it’s fair to allow any member in the state that’s qualified and good enough and wants the majority leader to give them that opportunity to make their case.” – Kate Lisa and Sophie Krichevsky
Thursday, 5 p.m. – Hochul eyeing prison reforms in next budget
Gov. Kathy Hochul is seriously exploring prison reforms in her next State of the State and executive budget proposal, multiple lawmakers at the annual Somos conference in Puerto Rico said Thursday.
Two lawmakers said the governor’s office recently distributed internal memos with prison data – indicating the Second Floor is focusing on proposals to improve the state’s correctional system.
Thousands of New York National Guard members continue to be deployed across dozens of state prisons since Hochul fired about 2,000 correction officers who participated in an illegal strike in February 2025, costing the state billions.
“We know this dynamic that we have in state prisons right now is not sustainable,” said Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, who chairs the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus. “I don’t know what the governor is going to propose, but something has to be done next session. I do think that we are going to have a discussion around prison reform and making our correctional facilities safer for both the staff and the incarcerated individuals.”
State leaders have been confronted with increasing compounding staffing and safety issues in state prisons this year, and the realization that the National Guard solution cannot be permanent. Shortages were exacerbated this summer when the National Guard had training sessions, according to Solages, who visited prisons this summer. That additional shortage caused people in prison, in many instances, to have to remain in their cells for hours per day, and not be allowed to visit the library or their usually allotted outdoor recreation time.
Several lawmakers in the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus are concerned that Hochul will propose to amend or repeal the HALT Act – a 2019 law that capped holding incarcerated people in solitary confinement housing to 15 days, and then be transferred to a Residential Rehabilitation Unit with special programming. Correction officers have decried the law, but opinions differ widely on if the law is to blame. A report released earlier this year shows the state has failed to fully fund HALT and the required rehabilitation programming the law requires.
Solages said the caucus will fight attempts to roll back HALT, and are discussing possible solutions. She expects the caucus will discuss prison reforms, and have conversations with the governor before session resumes in January.
Earlier in the day, Assembly Member Latrice Walker and state Sen. Cordell Cleare led a legislative panel prioritizing sentencing reform, like the Second Look Act, which would allow judges to review long prison sentences.
Several lawmakers on the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus said they expect prison-related proposals to be the focus of criminal justice reform during the next budget cycle, but don’t believe tweaking the state’s Raise the Age law, which increased the age of criminal responsibility in the state to 18, won’t be on the table.
Jess D’Amelia, a spokesperson with the governor’s office, said discussions are ongoing.
“Gov. Hochul will unveil her 2027 policy agenda in her State of the State in January,” she said in a statement. “She looks forward to working with the state Legislature in next year’s budget process, but no substantive policy discussions have yet taken place.” – Kate Lisa
Thursday, 4:15 p.m. – Adrienne Adams, curse breaker
As the newly minted lieutenant governor-elect, Adrienne Adams has done something none of her fellow former City Council speakers has managed: get elected to higher office after leaving the legislative body.
“She has broken the curse. Thank god. Present and future speakers have an elected life going forward,” former City Council Speaker Chris Quinn exclaimed in a phone call. “The Mets and the Jets need to make sure she is coming to either all of their games or their training camps or something because that woman clearly has magical powers.”
(Having unsuccessfully run for mayor after her tenure ended in 2013, Quinn is one in a line of speakers whose attempts to run for higher office were foiled.)
“I’m super excited for what she can do. Representation, two women running the state,” City Council Member Rita Joseph said. “She broke the curse.”
City Council Member Gale Brewer had less to say of curses, but plenty of thoughts about what the former speaker will be like as lieutenant governor. While Brewer said she’d initially been surprised when Gov. Kathy Hochul selected Adams as her running mate, she saw obvious compatibility between the two women on stage together just a few nights ago.
“She’s very charismatic. I think she’ll work well with the governor,” Brewer said. “There was good chemistry with the families, not just the individuals, which is helpful.”
City Council Member Eric Dinowitz said it will be great to have a “city person” in the Governor’s Office. As for the curse itself, however, he was skeptical. “I’m not so sure about it being a curse,” he said. “It’s a small sample size.”
Fair enough. Even when you count the office’s current occupant, Julie Menin, there’s been just seven City Council speakers in New York City history.
Still, there’s no denying how Adams' fortunes have reversed in a short period of time. She went from her tenure as speaker ending with an unsuccessful bid for mayor to the state’s first Black woman lieutenant governor – and as one half of New York’s first all women leadership ticket.
And now, with speakers’ fortunes changing, could this be a good sign for Menin’s future, should she decide to run for higher office, as well?
– Sahalie Donaldson
Thursday, 3 p.m. – What’s next for Staten Island?
Staten Island Dem Chair Charles Fall is “considering” challenging Rep. Nicole Malliotakis in 2028, the Assembly member tells me at Somos. Dems might(?) redistrict and get a friendly map before next cycle. Mallio beat DeCillis 56-44 but “had Alison Ziogas stayed in the race, the results would be different.”
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) November 5, 2026
Look out, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. Democrats are thinking about 2028. The Staten Island Democratic Party never liked the party’s nominee this year, Mike DeCillis, and Assembly Member Charles Fall was unapologetic. – Jeff Coltin
Thursday, 3 p.m. – Here comes Hakeem
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is arriving to Puerto Rico to join the Somos festivities, several sources told City & State. Fresh off Democrats clinching a majority in the House of Representatives, it’ll likely be both victory lap and strategizing sesh for Jeffries as he appears poised to make history as the first Black speaker in U.S. history this January.
“It was a political tsunami,” Attorney General Letitia James said of Democrats’ sweeping victories this week. “We anticipate that Hakeem will be speaker.” – Sahalie Donaldson
Thursday, 1:45 p.m. – Who’s skipping Somos?
Earlier this week, DSA-backed Assembly Member Diana Moreno told City & State she’s skipping Somos this year – on account of the ongoing drought afflicting the island. “I didn’t want to contribute to a situation in which residents are still struggling to get access to water,” she said.
But Moreno added that she’s not judging those of us who decided to head to San Juan. “This is a decision I made at the height of the water crisis, really based on not wanting to participate, but, you know, folks are making their own decisions, and I respect that,” she added.
And she had nice things to say about the Somos organizers who insisted on going through with this year’s conference despite opposition from Puerto Rican advocacy groups like UPROSE. “I really respect the organizers, and I do think that they’ve been trying to be really mindful to still hold Somos in a way that is really ethical, and I know that they are in conversation with folks on the ground,” she said.
Moreno’s DSA comrade, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, told City & State she had also considered skipping Somos, but ultimately decided to attend after the worst of the water crisis passed.
Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas said she decided to attend – in part because the annual influx of New York politicos brings much-needed money into the local economy – but felt conflicted about it. “I think there’s power in us being there, and I know the power of our our money is is is important for the community, and it's it's very hard for me as a Puerto Rican to see a lot of people enjoying an island that's really been depleted of a lot of its resources,” she told City & State last week.
Meanwhile, Reps.-elect Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier are skipping Somos for a more mundane reason: They need to take a breather after Election Day and get ready for new member orientation, which starts Sunday. But Valdez hasn’t avoided Puerto Rico entirely. In September, she met with local leaders and later posted a condemnation of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which she called “an unelected board appointed in DC starves the island of resources.” – Peter Sterne
Thursday, 12:20 p.m. – Comptroller Tom DiNapoli talks taxing the rich
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli was in the state Legislature for 20 years, so he usually avoids taking a stand on controversial legislative issues. Especially ones expected to dominate next year’s budget talks, like taxing the rich, as progressives pile on the pressure on state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase taxes on New York’s millionaires and billionaires.
“The (budget) process will kick off when the governor presents her proposal, and I’m sure there will be the usual spirit of discussion,” he added.
The comptroller has said the state’s already high taxes contribute to outmigration, but he typically dodges the issue arguing he doesn’t control tax policy. But DiNapoli is even more cheerful than usual – “for obvious reasons” – on the heels of Tuesday’s blue wave and the news the state budget got a $8.1 billion boost from strong performance on Wall Street.
“That conversation will take place next year,” said DiNapoli, who cruised to victory for a fifth term this week. “There’s plenty of time to see how that shakes out.”
“This is the most celebratory mood that I’ve ever been at Somos,” he said. – Kate Lisa
Thursday, 12:01 p.m. – She’s just Gale.
New York City Council Member Gale Brewer is known for being as meticulous as they come. While the rest of us struggle to figure out how to be in five places at once at Somos, though, she’s got it covered. She marched over to a couple City & State journalists to show off how she’d written out five different schedules, by hand, happening simultaneously over the next few days, including Somos, the City Council calendar and the mayor’s schedule.
It took her three hours last night. – Sophie Krichevsky
Thursday, 11:23 a.m. – Nobody’s allowed by the pool
Hilton security chased down Rep. Nydia Velázquez as she was meeting with BK Dems reformer Julio Peña - since only hotel guests are allowed by the pool, not Somos conference-goers. Don’t they know she’s the first Puerto Rican woman in Congress? “I don’t use that here!” She laughs. https://t.co/LQrWsKktQT
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) November 5, 2026
Yes, even if you’re the first-ever Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, now retiring after an illustrious a nearly 34-year career, you’re not allowed to sit by the pool – unless you’re a hotel guest.
Velázquez’s protege, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, even walked up and asked the guard to just give her and Brooklyn Dems reformer Julio Peña five minutes by the relative privacy of the pool. The guard refused. And a good-natured Velázquez walked away to find a new spot, shaking her head and smiling. – Jeff Coltin
Thursday, 10:27 a.m. – Osina’s win a long time coming
Assembly Member-elect Pesach Osina was greeted with a steady stream of mazel tovs in the Caribe Hilton lobby at Somos. He held on to retiring Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato’s Rockaways seat for the Democrats, but it hasn’t come easy. He finished in a close second in the neighborhoods’ 2013 City Council race, losing to Donovan Richards by just 79 votes. And he finished a close second in the 2021 council race as well.
But this time, “momentum was going that way from the start,” he told City & State, referring to the Democratic Party. And while he’ll be part of a growing trend of Orthodox Jews in the Legislature, Osina emphasized his winning coalition included Black, Bengali and Latino communities in the district too.
Osina has been a top staffer in the City Council Speaker’s Office before now. So will Republican Council Member Joann Ariola’s Rockaways seat flip blue when she’s termed out in 2029? “Let me get through year one,” he said – not ready to talk political plans yet. But he said he’s already been invited to heavily Republican outposts like Breezy Point and Belle Harbor to meet community leaders. – Jeff Coltin
Thursday, 9:35 a.m. – Nydia’s not gabbing about AOC
Rep. Nydia Velàzquez is in her element here at Somos, – and while this will be her last as a member of Congress, she told City & State yesterday that she’s not going anywhere. And she’s feeling “elated” by Tuesday’s results and the ascendance of many Latino candidates. “I am still celebrating the fact that, hello, Texas!!” she said.
As for the question on everyone’s minds – what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s next move will be – La Luchadora smiled knowingly when asked about it. “Stay tuned,” she told City & State. – Sophie Krichevsky
Wednesday, 9 p.m. – Setting the stage for 2029
Keith Felsenfeld, currently chief of staff to New York City Council Member Linda Lee, confirmed to City & State he plans to run for City Council in 2029. As a resident of Electchester, Queens, he’d run for the seat currently held by Council Member Jim Gennaro, who will be term-limited at the end of 2029. Felsenfeld is also a Democratic district leader in Assembly District 27, which overlaps with Gennaro’s district.
Though Felsenfeld has not yet filed, his candidacy sets up a potential race between him and IUOE Local 30 Political Director Kelly Sexton, who filed to run for the seat this summer. – Sophie Krichevsky
Wednesday, 6:15 p.m. – The day after Election Day in NY-17
After a long Election Day in Westchester County, County Executive Ken Jenkins arrives at Somos, ready to blow off some steam https://t.co/3y5WYU1TJh
— Sophie Krichevsky (she/her/hers) (@skrichev13) November 4, 2026
After a chaotic Election Day where ballot scanners across Westchester County were unable to count votes for much of the day, you can bet few are as happy to be in San Juan as County Executive Ken Jenkins. Luckily for him and the state Board of Elections, issues in Westchester County didn't stop one of the hottest congressional races in the country from being called for Cait Conley last night. – Sophie Krichevsky
Wednesday, 6:10 p.m. – Oh Zohran where art thou?
While New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won’t touch down in San Juan until late tomorrow night to attend Friday and Saturday events, a few officials in his administration will be holding down the fort in the meantime.
Expect to see Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Julie Su and Department of Veteran Services Commissioner Yesenia Mata around, according to a spokesperson for the mayor. In the same vein as his predecessors, schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels is also expected.
We’ll find out soon if Mamdani has the same kind of main character energy surrounding him this year that he did last year… but it’s a safe bet. – Sahalie Donaldson
Wednesday, 5:45 p.m. – Arriving at El Caribe
Standing on line to check in at El Caribe, state Sen. Leroy Comrie said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of seats Democrats picked up in the upper chamber Tuesday night, noting the victories of Sarah Rogerson over longtime Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco, Joe Rand over state Sen. Bill Weber and others. Asked about the governor’s roughly 20-point margin of victory, Comrie was impressed, and said it likely helped the rest of the ticket. He also said it was a result of voters “not listening to bad messaging from the GOP.”
“Blakeman was an albatross for the rest of the ticket,” the Queens Democrat said of the Republican gubernatorial candidate. – Sophie Krichevsky
Wednesday, 11 a.m. – Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Somos
Assembly Member Karines Reyes, who chairs the Somos conference and the Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, spoke with City & State about the upcoming conference, its milestone anniversary and concerns about the impact on Puerto Rico’s water crisis. Read more here. – Kate Lisa
Wednesday, 10 a.m. – Somos outbound
The 10:35 a.m. flight out of Newark Airport buzzed with energy as gleeful Democratic elected officials set out for San Juan, Puerto Rico, buoyed by last night’s results – a far cry from the dejected energy that followed President Donald Trump’s victory two years ago.
“Would you describe it as more of a shellacking or more of an ass-whooping?” New York City Comptroller Mark Levine joked, turning to City Council Member Eric Dinowitz who sat at his side outside the gate. (Levine had waxed a bit more poetic earlier, describing the results as a long time coming, a new dawn even.)
“I don’t use foul language – I don’t say anything to press that I wouldn’t want my kids to see,” Dinowitz quipped, before pivoting to the path ahead.
“We have a party that’s more interested in working families than in the very few wealthy people,” he said. “We have two years to demonstrate to the American people that we have a productive agenda that isn’t just no Trump.”
Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, New York City Council Member Kamillah Hanks, Housing activist Shams DaBaron, Reed Dunlea of New York Immigration Coalition and political consultant William Lynch were among those also spotted en route to Somos. – Sahalie Donaldson
Wednesday, 9:45 a.m. – New York pols are pushing bills about Puerto Rico
Every year, New York’s political class flocks to Somos following Election Day, in a sign of the central importance that Latinos, and particularly Puerto Ricans, have in the state’s politics. But lawmakers of Puerto Rican descent want to do more than just celebrate Puerto Rican heritage; they want to change the relationship that currently exists between the United States and Puerto Rico. Read more here. – Peter Sterne
Monday, 5:13 p.m. – What people will be talking about at Somos
We’re heading down to San Juan for another year at Somos. Fresh off Election Day, there’s a lot to consider heading into a quiet 2027 – and setting the stage for more exciting elections in 2028 and 2029. Read more here. – Sophie Krichevsky
NEXT STORY: Constantino declares victory in NY-21