First Ad Blitz in N.Y.C. Mayor’s Race Has an Unlikely Star: Obama Shaun Donovan, a former White House budget director, is rolling out his TV ad campaign and hoping his background in Washington will help him emerge from a crowded pack of candidates. Shaun Donovan, center, with then-President Barack Obama in 2014. Mr. Donovan also worked for former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, running New York City’s housing department.Credit...Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Published Feb. 8, 2021Updated March 18, 2021 With the pandemic transforming New York City’s mayoral race into a mostly virtual af...