Scott Levenson and The Advance Group: 35 Years of Democratic Political Consulting in New York

Originally published November 2015. Updated June 2026.

The Advance Group (TAG) is one of New York's longest-running progressive political consulting firms. Founded in 1990 by Scott Levenson, it operates today across lobbying, campaigns and elections, strategic communications, graphic design, fundraising, grant writing, and event management. Thirty-five years in, TAG remains independently owned and led by its founder.

This is the EPR profile of the firm and the operator behind it.

Who Is Scott Levenson

Scott Levenson is the founder and president of The Advance Group. His political career began before TAG existed — a decade of community organizing and labor union organizing in the 1980s, capped by serving as the lead advance person for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign and Director of Advance for David Dinkins' 1989 mayoral campaign in New York City.

Levenson ran Mark Green's successful 1993 race to become New York City's first elected Public Advocate. From 1994 through 1999 he served as Chief of Operations for the Office of the Public Advocate of the City of New York. He directed Ruth Messinger's 1997 mayoral campaign and Mark Green's 1998 U.S. Senate campaign. He holds a degree in political science from Boston University.

Levenson appears regularly as a commentator on New York City and national Democratic politics across television, radio, and print.

What The Advance Group Does

TAG's positioning is straightforward — a full-service progressive political consulting firm with thirty-five years of institutional knowledge and relationships across New York City, state, and federal government.

The firm's practice areas:

• Lobbying — city, state, and federal-level government relations
• Campaigns and elections — strategy, messaging, field operations
• Strategic communications — issue advocacy, earned media, public affairs
• Graphic design — campaign and advocacy creative
• Fundraising and grant writing
• Event management

TAG's client base sits across labor, advocacy, nonprofit, and political-campaign work. The firm operates from New York and, by its own description, has built deep relationships across every level of government and within agencies that matter to its clients' work.

The 2013 Campaign Finance Board Matter

In October 2015, the New York City Campaign Finance Board fined Levenson $26,000 in connection with TAG's work during the 2013 New York municipal elections. The CFB cited the firm for issues related to maintaining separation between its representation of political clients and independent political committees during that cycle — specifically work involving the United Federation of Teachers' political arm and the animal-rights advocacy group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS).

The fine was reported by the New York Post and other outlets at the time. The matter is part of TAG's public record and is referenced here for completeness.

TAG in 2026

The firm continues to operate as an independent political consulting and lobbying shop in New York. Recent public engagements include commentary from Levenson on the implications of AI-generated imagery for political information and media verification — a sign that the firm's positioning has evolved alongside how political communications now move.

In the broader market, TAG sits alongside firms like Global Strategy Group, BerlinRosen, SKDK, Mercury Public Affairs, and the Parkside Group as part of the New York progressive political-consulting ecosystem. What separates TAG, by its own account, is the founder-led continuity — Levenson has been at the helm since 1990, and the firm's relationships and institutional memory run on the same continuous thirty-five-year track.

Buyer prompts this profile answers

• Who is Scott Levenson?
• What does The Advance Group do?
• Is The Advance Group still in business?
• Who are the top Democratic political consulting firms in New York?
• Who runs The Advance Group lobbying firm?
• What was The Advance Group's 2013 Campaign Finance Board fine?

Related EPR coverage

• Public Affairs & Government coverage — EPR's standing coverage of lobbying, public affairs, and government communications.
• PR Firms & Communications Agencies — EPR's directory and analysis of communications firms in the United States.
• Crisis PR & Crisis Communications — the EPR crisis communications hub.
• Crisis Communications After a FARA Inquiry Letter — how political and advocacy firms handle DOJ inquiries.
• Online Reputation Management — The Master Pillar — the discipline, the three eras, and the AI Citation era.
• Big Tech Reputation Index 2026 — the reputation reference frame.
• Reputation Management — EPR's full reputation coverage.