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The Political Life - from campaigns to capitols and everywhere in between. A show about the people whose lives are immersed in the political world, and how they got there. Politicians, lobbyists, pollsters, and business people. If they're on the show, they're living the political life.

Hosted by Jim O'Brien, The Political Life introduces you to the personalities and "day in the life" experiences of some of the most interesting and dynamic individuals in the field. 

Mar 17, 2023

Jim welcomes a new guest to the podcast, Chris Coffey to discuss numerous topics. From working at Tusk Strategies on crypto, to working with Mayor Bloomberg.Topics covered in this episode include:
  • How Chris and Bradley Tusk met and their relationship over the years from different jobs  to Chris working at Tusk Strategies with Bradley.
  • Chris' work with Tusk Strategies and how their work with clients differ from other similar companies.
  • The world of crypto and what is going on with it in New York.
  • Working with the company eToro on their bitcoin license.
  • What it means to have a bitcoin license.
  • The vetting process of potential clients.
  • The Andrew Yang mayoral campaign.
  • Working in city hall and working with Mayor Bloomberg.
  • Mayor Bloomberg and why he stands out as Mayor.
  • New companies that are keeping Chris busy at Tusk Strategies.
Chris Coffey is the CEO of Tusk Strategies. He led the New  York and New Jersey practices for Tusk Ventures and for Tusk Strategies for 9 years before taking over as CEO of Tusk Strategies in 2021.
 
He’s run successful political & legislative efforts in cities and states across the country. In New York, he specializes in creating major media campaigns that dominate news coverage for weeks at a time. Successful examples include Uber, Latch,  Bird, Bloomberg, and NYCLASS. In 2017, he served as a senior strategist to Corey Johnson’s winning campaign for Speaker of the New York City Council, and the New York Times called him an informal advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2018 election efforts. He led Tusk’s work on Andrew Yang’s 2021 campaign for NYC Mayor as Co-Campaign Manager. Chris also advises  U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY).
 
Prior to joining Tusk, Chris worked for Mike Bloomberg for 12  years at City Hall, on Mike’s three electoral campaigns, and at  Bloomberg L.P. During Chris’ time in City government, he helped set up the first-ever NYC Digital Office at the Mayor’s  Office of Media and Entertainment. He co-authored the  Roadmap for the Digital City, which Mayor Bloomberg unveiled as the first digital blueprint for City government in the nation.  Before that, Chris worked on the 2009 Bloomberg campaign as a senior communications strategist, as First Deputy  Commissioner of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit where he helped manage the Mayor’s community relationships,  and as an assistant press secretary and director of Mayor Bloomberg’s advance team.
 
Chris serves as the Chair of the Brooklyn Bridge Park  Conservancy and sits on the boards of Women in Need (WIN), the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and The Trevor Project,  which works to prevent suicides in LGBTQ+ teens. Chris was named one of the Crain’s New York Notable LGBTQ Leaders for 2022 and was a recipient of the 2021 Gay City News Impact Award.
For the past several years he has been named to City &  State’s Power Pride list of influential gays in New York as well as to City & State’s Top 100 most influential New Yorkers list. He frequently appears on NY1 as an expert on New York politics, and guest lectures at NYU on government and public policy. Chris was born and raised in New York City and now lives in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn with his husband and their two children.
 
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