NEW YORK — Andrew Yang’s first TV ad sets an uplifting tone.

“People give me hope: essential workers, food entrepreneurs, the kids in our schools,” the candidate for mayor says as the narrator.

The message is clear: He wants New Yorkers to know he’s committed to getting the city back on track.

But it was launched the same day as a separate communication, perhaps tailored to a different audience and tackling an issue far thornier.


What You Need To Know

  • Bradley Tusk is political strategist turned lobbyist and venture capitalist

  • His firm manages Andrew Yang's campaign for mayor, raising questions about potential conflicts

  • Tusk memo pledges a firewall between his interests and a Yang administration, should Yang be elected

Addressing concerns about potential conflicts, the high-powered lobbyist whose firm runs the Yang campaign penned an essay vowing an ethical approach, should Yang be elected.

Bradley Tusk pledged, “I will not lobby or talk with the new mayor — nor anyone in a Yang administration — on any matter that intersects with our work.”

He added, “Tusk employees (including me) will not raise any money for any Yang-related entity for the entirety of his time at City Hall.”

He further said there would be full disclosure and weekly meetings between outside counsel and Tusk employees.

The memo came in apparent response to a New York Times report on Tusk.

Tusk’s many clients have included Uber and the Police Benevolent Association.

The firm is led by former aides to Michael Bloomberg, and not only lobbies but also takes an ownership stake in startup companies from electric scooters to cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, the Yang TV ad centers the same happy-warrior energy the candidate has exuded over the course of his campaign, which is banking on pandemic-weary New Yorkers seeking optimism.

He signs off atop the Cyclone in Coney Island, saying, “I’m Andrew Yang and I’m running for mayor!"

Yang brought the approach Thursday to NY1, where the political newcomer was asked how he would govern knowing what he doesn’t know.

“You have to surround yourself with people who’ve been there, done that and have that expertise at the table,” he told "Mornings on 1."

Also Thursday, alongside an empty lot on the East River, Yang unveiled a plan to generate $900 million in revenue by raising the assessment on vacant land.

“We have to see to it that the city’s actually getting a more appropriate level of revenue for lots like this one, but also provide a spur to the owner to actually make use of the land,” he said.

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