Ramos was born at Elmhurst Hospital and raised in Astoria,Queens,New York City. She is the daughter of Colombian immigrants.[6] Exposed to civic life at an early age,Ramos participated in community activities with the Colombian immigrant community's local civic groups and later on as a Democratic district leader and community board member.[7] She graduated from the Academy of American Studies and attended Hofstra University,discontinuing her studies to work in the office of then-New York City Council Member Hiram Monserrate[8][9] (whom she now denounces).[10]
Career
Ramos worked in New York City Hall where she was initially a communications adviser and ultimately became director of Latino media from April 2016 to December 2017.[clarification needed] In this role,Ramos was the city's top Latinx spokeswoman and liaison to the Spanish-language press.[11] Before joining city government,Ramos was the communications director for Build Up NYC,an advocacy organization for construction,building,and maintenance workers. She has also done communications work with a local chapter of the American Federation of State,County and Municipal Employees and a regional branch of the Service Employees International Union.[11]
Ramos has served on Queens Community Board 3,and she was a Queens County Democratic district leader from 2010 to 2014.[11]
In the Senate,Ramos serves as chair on the Committee on Labor.[18] She is a member of the following committees:[19]
Budget and Revenue Committee
Cannabis Committee
Commerce,Economic and Small Business Committee
Corporations,Authorities and Commissions Committee
Finance Committee
Judiciary Committee
State-Native American Relations Committee
Transportation Committee
Legislative Women's Caucus
Select Majority Task Force on Diversity in the Judiciary
Select Majority Task Force on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises
Tenure
She co-sponsored a bill to decriminalize sex work,known as Cecilia's Act,it would uphold all felony anti-trafficking statutes that are designed to hold traffickers accountable.[20][21] In 2023,Ramos criticized Governor Kathy Hochul's proposals to ease housing construction in New York because not all local labor unions supported the proposals.[22] That same year,Ramos called for "good cause eviction" tenant protections to be included in any budget housing proposal.[23]
In 2025,Ramos introduced the "Recourse Act," which would allow the New York State Governor to withhold state tax dollars if the U.S. President cuts federal spending the city relies on for supporting critical agencies,saying,"If Trump cuts our funding,then we will withhold our taxes."[24]
In February 2025,the City Planning Commission voted in favor of approving zoning changes which would allow for the project to be built. The area is zoned as parkland and zoning changes are needed to allow the project to move forward. Neighboring community boards have also voted in favor of the proposed development.[30][31] In March 2025,the New York City Council voted 41–2 to approve the zoning changes.[32] Later that month,fellow state senator John Liu announced that he would introduce a bill to reclassify the zoning as commercial space.[33][34][35] In late April 2025,a State Senate committee voted 4–3 to advance a bill allowing the Willets Point section of the park to be rezoned to permit commercial use.[36][37] In May 2025,the bill passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature. [38][39][40][41]
2025 New York City mayoral campaign
On September 13,2024,Ramos announced that she would run in the Democratic primary in the 2025 New York City mayoral election,challenging incumbent mayorEric Adams. She received support from organized labor,including United Auto Workers Region 9A,Teamsters Local 808,The Chelsea Reformed Democratic Club of New York,and Teamsters Local 804.[42] Voting in the primary is done by ranked choice,and on May 29,2025,the Working Families Party announced its fifth-choice ranked endorsement of Ramos.[43]
By June 2025,her campaign had struggled to gain traction. It did not qualify for matching funds or for the second primary debate;and it had less than $10k cash on hand according to campaign finance reports.[44][45]Politico's New York Playbook PM newsletter reported that the campaign actually had outstanding debts totalling over $250,000 due to a vendor dispute which had not yet been filed with the New York City Campaign Finance Board,which could result in thousands of dollars worth of fines.[46]
Cuomo endorsement and reactions
On June 6,2025,Ramos endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary,while remaining on the ballot herself. The move surprised many,inasmuch as Ramos had been one of the first elected officials to call on Cuomo to resign in 2021,and had previously compared Cuomo's mental state to Joe Biden's by opining that his "mental acuity is in decline." She is considered a political progressive.[47][44] NYC journalists speculated that the endorsement could be a move aimed at giving Ramos a path to a high-level role in Cuomo's mayoral administration.[48]
The Working Families Party,which had endorsed Ramos a week earlier,announced in a statement that “We are sad and disappointed that State Sen. Jessica Ramos has decided to endorse the candidate favored by Trump’s billionaire donors. But we won’t be distracted by this desperate move”;however,it declined to state whether the group would rescind its fifth-place ranking for Ramos.[49] United Auto Workers Region 9A,which had previously voted unanimously to endorse Ramos,announced that it would rescind its endorsement,stating in a release,"Opposing Andrew Cuomo is a non-negotiable for our membership."[50]Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Action,the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club,state assemblymemberEmily Gallagher,Professional Staff Congress,state senator Gustavo Rivera and Downtown Women for Change all announced that they would drop Ramos from their endorsement slates the same day.[51]
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