Editor’s note: Jessica Ramos makes a timely announcement

Jessica Ramos couldn’t have been more timely when she announced she was running for mayor. The announcement came a day after the resignation of New York City Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban last week. Caban, who is of Puerto Rican descent and made history as the department’s first Latino commissioner, stepped down after his home was raided in an FBI probe focused on several of his NYPD subordinates. “The news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department,” he wrote to the rank and file on Thursday.

Ramos’ intentions to run were widely known, it was only a matter of when she would announce. Caban’s stepping down ended up being a powerful precursor to let the city know that the Colombian state senator from Queens was running against Eric Adams to be the city’s first Latina mayor. Whether planned or not, it was welcome news for a Hispanic community disappointed by Caban’s loss and the blow his departure delivered to Latino representation at the highest levels of city government. The Adams administration can still point to Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar, who is Dominican, as the highest ranking Latina at City Hall, and Ydanis Rodríguez, the Department of Transportation’s commissioner who is also Dominican, among others. But they are on a Latino leadership roster that has fewer and fewer players, and there’s no indication another Latino will replace Caban. Meanwhile, the NYPD’s interim head, Tom Donlon, is white. At this rate, either a victorious Ramos or Brooklyn-born state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, whose parents are from Costa Rica and who is also running for mayor, may be the best shot at raising the status of Latinos at City Hall.