No, Bill de Blasio hasn't announced his candidacy for president...yet. But the same type of grassroots politics that gave Mayor de Blasio his start and propelled him to the mayoralty helped turn a little-known, freshman senator from Chicago's South Side into the President of the United States. Learn how from Mitch Stewart, who, as Obama's 2008 Iowa caucus director and 2012 battleground states director, helped oversee the campaign's field operations in its most critical contests. Stewart will be joined by leading New York City strategists who are managing local efforts to achieve universal pre-kindergarten and public campaign financing.

A conversation with:

• Mitch Stewart, founding partner, 270 Strategies
• Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director, New York State Alliance for Quality Education
• Michael Blake, principal, Atlas Strategy Group
• Susan Lerner, executive director, Common Cause New York

Moderated by:

• Jeff Smith, assistant professor of politics and advocacy, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, The New School

Admission is free but you must RSVP.

[youtube width="640" height="360"]http://youtu.be/Y0to6b1XCsI[/youtube]

The Center’s public policy forums are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Milano Foundation.