Words matter. These are the best Antonio Villaraigosa Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
Let me be clear – no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.
The fact is this is a great country because we’ve always embraced immigrants. The fact is we have every right to enforce our borders and to protect them, but we also need to provide a pathway for citizenship.
You can’t just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.
I believe that the mayor of the most diverse city anywhere in the world has to be a uniter, has to be someone that’s comfortable in every community, has to be someone that represents all of us.
The great thing about our system of democracy is when they call you for jury duty, you have to come… It’s an honor and a privilege. I was called and I’ve got to be here.
Some critics say I spent too much time on politics. I don’t put much stock in the critics.
I believe in family values, and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.
Don’t let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. You’ve got to set a high bar.
Everybody knows that L.A. is known for its addiction to the single-passenger automobile, the gridlock, the congestion on the freeways.
I want to be known as the mayor who happens to be Latino who made a difference. I ran to make a difference.
There are teachers’ unions around the country realizing they want to improve standards of the profession, improve the quality of their profession, and ultimately attract the best and the brightest to their profession. The vast majority of teachers are dedicated and committed.
You’ve got to do what’s right, or what you think is right. And you’ve got to make tough decisions. And you’ve got to be willing to take on your friends when you disagree with them.
My kids and I are spending time together. And we’re enjoying that. Family is important; I was gone a lot in the 20 years of public service.
I don’t want to describe either Governor Mitt Romney or the Republicans as stupid, but I will say this – if you look at their platform, the 2012 platform, it looks like it’s from another century and maybe even two. It looks like the platform of 1812.
Again, if I was going to call Romney and the Republicans stupid, I’m certainly not going to call the Democrats and President Obama stupid.
I want to figure out how we put California and America back on track – how we bridge this partisan divide that is so polarizing.
The day that I spearheaded the passage of America Fast Forward… the newspaper of record did not put it in the newspaper; what they put was my breakup with my ex-girlfriend. I took umbrage with that. A great newspaper ought to be printing things that people care about, issues that people care about.
Too many Californians are struggling to make ends meet, pay the bills, and send their kids to college. They are looking for progressive leaders in Washington who will fight for them, like Senator Boxer has done for over 20 years.
I’m not one of the people who have to be in public office.
Over the years, I’ve learned, focus on the job at hand, and opportunities will open after.
So laying people off is not something I do lightly, it’s not something I relish.
I’ve always said that L.A. is the city of America’s future. It is to the world what London was in the 19th century and New York in the 20th because of the growth of the Pacific Rim countries. We’re the portal to the emerging world.
When I ran the first time in 2001, they called me ‘The Latino Mayor.’ By the time I left in 2013, with a 58 percent approval rating, half the people liked me, half the people didn’t. I was everybody’s mayor. There was never any criticism that I was just for one group.
I’ve made no secret that although I loved being a legislator, I particularly loved being a chief executive.
I have decided not to run for the U.S. Senate and instead continue my efforts to make California a better place to live, work, and raise a family. We have come a long way, but our work is not done, and neither am I.
