The campaign manager credited with orchestrating Mayor de Blasio’s come-from-behind election last year is working as a senior advisor to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley as he ponders a potential presidential bid in 2016, the Daily News has learned.

Bill Hyers is working with O’Malley’s federal O’Say Can You See PAC, which the governor uses to pay for his staff and raise money for Democratic candidates.

“Bill has been informally advising the Governor's PAC for the last few months,” O’Malley press secretary Lis Smith confirmed. “Now that the midterm elections are over, he is stepping up his role as a senior adviser. With his vast national experience on every level of campaign, we are thrilled to have him on board.”

Hyers has built a brand for himself helping longshot candidates win elections.

Before working for de Blasio, Hyers had served as Pennsylvania state director for President Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. He also managed the 2006 congressional campaign of now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral race of Michael Nutter.

“There’s a base of progressives out there nationally looking for a voice, and they’ve been funding people for a while,” says O’Malley senior adviser Bill Hyers, who managed liberal darling Bill de Blasio’s New York mayoral campaign in 2013. “There’s definitely a group we can tap into that is looking for Gov. O’Malley.”

But as O’Malley seeks to sharpen the contrast with Clinton, aides said, he is unlikely to lash out at her directly anytime soon.
Instead, he will continue to point out her policy shifts, talk about a need for new leadership and tweet videos highlighting his stances on specific issues when he and Clinton disagree, according to people familiar with his plans.

While the O’Malley brain trust is invested in raising the likely candidate’s name recognition levels in the early-voting states, his advisers see no benefit in doing so by attacking Clinton, whose campaign looks and feels like a juggernaut. It’s not productive for O’Malley to become known for anti-Clinton attacks, they believe, preferring that he focus on specific issues — like strengthening Wall Street regulation and opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal — that excite liberals.

Ultimately, his strategists hope to position him as a liberal with executive experience, funded largely by a robust online donation operation.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced on Tuesday via Twitter that he would be sending 150 state troopers to assist Maryland in its response to the violence unfurling in Baltimore.

The violence that began on Monday was tied to protests, which sought answers about the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a severed spinal cord while in police custody and died. Maryland's governor also announced some 2,000 national guardsmen would be dispatched to help stop the violence.

Serving the people of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax has been one of the greatest honors of my life. For the past 12 years, I have had the chance to serve as an elected official in one of the most vibrant, diverse, civically-engaged places in the United States. It is always humbling to talk to my constituents because they always know so much about so many issues and they always teach me something.

Coming back from session this year, I was forced to evaluate the number of hours in the day and how I fill them. Between business, family, and public service, it is clear that I’m burning more candles at more ends than I can sustain.

I have a growing business with employees and investors that depend on me---a business that gives me a chance to put my values into action by supporting local non-profits, promoting a strong wage, and by giving people a second or third chance to get on their feet. I have also spent time in the last weeks reflecting on the fact that my family has tolerated me missing a lot due to public responsibilities.

Having spent over half of my adult life involved in public service in some way or another, it is time for me to step back from elected life to focus on my growing business and on my family. I don’t like to do anything halfway and the demands on my time make it impossible for me to be the engaged, active public servant that I have always tried to be.

I believe in Virginia’s part-time public service model. It is designed to minimize politics as a career and to give a variety of people the chance to serve and better the Commonwealth. It also inevitably creates conflict with an individual’s family, financial, and career needs. After 12 years, that conflict has become too stark for me.

There are many good people who have the time and passion to serve the 45th district well. I know the district will be well-served by whomever holds the 45th district delegate seat.

It will take years to say thank you to all my friends and family that have enabled my service and supported me over the years. You all put up with the all too frequent requests to volunteer or donate and much more. I know our work together has left things a bit better than we found them. I know we have more to do. I am looking forward to finishing my term, with a focus on my early childhood work, and then continuing civic activities and working with all of you through my business and as a community volunteer.

In Service,

Rob