Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani Heads to San Juan for Annual Somos Political Summit

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani Heads to San Juan for Annual Somos Summit

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, 34, is traveling to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday to attend Somos, the annual summit that brings New York politicians, community leaders and lobbyists together for strategy sessions, workshops and evening receptions.

Fresh off his election victory — in which he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa — Mamdani is expected to be a central figure at the conference as he begins assembling his incoming administration. This week he named a transition team made up of veteran officials to guide the shift to City Hall and to help advance an ambitious affordability agenda when he takes office next year.

At Somos, Mamdani is scheduled to appear at a Thursday evening cocktail reception hosted by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a prominent supporter during his campaign. The conference, held at a Hilton hotel in San Juan, features ballroom sessions such as “Workforce Development Through Rising Communities” and “Celebrating Human Services Together,” alongside a series of legislative workshops.

While the program includes substantive policy panels and workshops, the summit also serves as a post–Election Day retreat — a chance for networking, relationship-building and informal meetings among the state's political movers and shakers. Mamdani will travel with several staffers and is expected to return to New York on Saturday.

Why it matters: Early meetings and conversations at gatherings like Somos can shape key staffing decisions and policy priorities for a new administration, giving insiders and advocates an early opportunity to press their agendas.