Though Ragone was unqualified, by his own account, to serve as a national campaign’s press officer, the Clinton-Gore coordinated campaign in 1996 selected him for the job. It was during the re-election campaign that Ragone met now New York Mayor-elect
Bill de Blasio who called Ragone "energetic, idealistic, willing to do anything...He was extremely persistent." According to a profile in the
San Francisco Chronicle, Ragone considers de Blasio one of his mentors. The New York Observer wrote Ragone secured the position due to his “work-for-nothing gene.” Because the New York primary was uncontested, the campaign didn't want to spend significant money in the state. Thus the young Ragone was as a perfect fit for the role. In total, Ragone worked at HUD for nine months, before leaving to join Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign for New York Senate. After his brief stint with the Clinton Senate campaign, Ragone began work with
Al Gore’s campaign for president. In his role as press secretary, Ragone directed press strategy in
New York and California. Whenever the Vice President visited New York during this primary against
Bill Bradley, Ragone was one of the handful of people who briefed Gore daily. Ragone also briefly served on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s first campaign for Senate and got his start in national politics during the Clinton-Gore coordinated presidential campaign in 1996. In 2008, Ragone served in a volunteer communications role with
Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign for President - working in
California,
Texas and
North Carolina. In 2014, Ragone was named Senior Adviser for Strategic Planning for New York Mayor de Blasio. ==San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom==