Bradley Tusk

Who is Bradley Tusk?

Bradley Tusk served as the campaign manager for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s successful 2009 re-election bid. The Bloomberg campaign was described by the New York Times as a "juggernaut." The New York City Mayor's race was considered to be among the nation's highest profile elections in 2009.

In referring to Tusk's role with the Bloomberg campaign, the New York Times said: "Mr. Tusk’s high level of organization, and his demand for corporate-style accountability, earned him admiration and occasional resentment within the campaign. He kept meticulous checklists and spreadsheets on a dozen topics at a time, and sought daily, sometimes hourly, updates from staff members. Over the summer, he ordered staff members to work until 8 every night. They were unhappy, and let him know it. He refused to back down, worried the large staff was becoming complacent. Yet the campaign rarely, if ever, missed an internal deadline, and it committed few serious missteps." The New York Observer described Tusk as "Mayor Bloomberg's Secret Weapon." Tusk was recently named one of the “Top 20 most influential people in New York City".

Tusk is the founder of Tusk Strategies, a political and strategic consulting firm based in New York City. Their clients range from major corporations like Walmart & AT&T to major issue advocacy campaigns around education reform and good government, to campaigns to help political candidates, non-profits and trade associations. Tusk ran the successful campaign to raise the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in New York State, giving 125,000 more students across the state a chance to attend charter schools and putting New York in position to win Race to the Top. The campaign was widely hailed as a triumph over the special interests that usually dominate the legislative agenda in Albany. The campaign was called a "coup for the charter school movement" by the Wall Street Journal, a "huge win for the kids" by the New York Daily News, and a "significant victory" by the New York Times.