Antonio Villaraigosa Quotations

I got to grow up with a mother who taught me to believe in me.

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 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.

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.

Because we believe that you got to build the economy from middle out and not from the top down.

Actually, as president of the Conference of Mayors, we passed the Simpson-Bowles plan as a template, as a template, as a frame work for moving forward and the president has done the same.

But I will say, I think there are some Democrats that don't want to address pension reform. I have taken on the issue of seniority and tenure. I think we have to address entitlements and the president has done that in his budget. I think we have to extend Medicare and the president has done that. But also reinvest in that program.

In no small part I think all of us kind of look in the mirror and feel good or not feel good about the person we seen in the mirror in no small part because of the jobs we have.

Look, you're not going to get me to say that Democrats don't make mistakes. We do. I mentioned two areas - pension reform and seniority and tenure. I've done both - I've advocated for both. I've advocated for - seek for reform as well.

We're not a homogeneous party, anymore than the Republicans are. But we are a party that I think has a plan to take us forward.

So laying people off is not something I do lightly, it's not something I relish.

My father was predisposed to drunken rages. I would hide under the bed. My sister and I were talking just the other day about the terror a drunken man in a rage can create in a child.

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'm not looking for a battle with anybody, neither the council nor our labor partners.

I'm not one of the people who have to be in public office.

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.

We're smoothing over Los Angeles one pothole at a time,

We're going to try new things, folks, ... That's what leadership is all about.

What a great actor and what a committed human being, ... For years, he's used his fame for the purpose of developing new talent and providing positive role models for Latinos.

If you wave a flag, make it an American Flag.

You all know I love L.A., but tonight I really love L.A.,

We stand with President Obama - love doesn't have a color, love doesn't care if you're gay or straight. Love doesn't discriminate.

We in Los Angeles, who have ourselves been helped to stand up - to recover and rebuild after a disaster - want to help the families and communities of the Gulf Coast,.

We're a community built for the Olympic Games. We have world-class sporting venues and we have a history of success,

Leadership is not about being afraid to lead or make mistakes, ... the whole culture is about being safe and risk averse.

Many of these jobs are quality, middle-class jobs, ... The film industry is pivotal to the city's economy. ... In fact, the average scripted features -- television and commercial productions -- have a direct production-related economic impact of $150,000 to $250,000 each day they're in production.

has worked to relieve traffic congestion, reduce the impact of development on city streets and ensure the safety of the millions of drivers who commute on Los Angeles streets.

Hispanic Heritage Month gives us a significant opportunity to celebrate the culture and contributions of Hispanics to the city of Los Angeles. I'm so proud to be a part of a city that thrives on its diversity and takes time out to recognize this strength in special ways like this.

I think the people I met in the course of this campaign realize that those commercials frankly are not reflective of who I am, who I've been and how I'll serve the city of Los Angeles.

I think what we want to do is make sure that the people who are buying handguns have a clean record and at a minimum aren't people who have been convicted of criminal activity in the past, even if it is a misdemeanor activity.

Our community knows the difference between rhetoric and results. They know the difference between pandering and producing.

Stem cell research will be the key to unlocking the mysteries of illnesses that have afflicted our friends and families for generations, ... We need Washington to stop playing politics that could impact California's efforts to lead the nation in life saving research. We stand united in California urging Congress to pass Senator Feinstein's legislation adopting strong ethical standards while pushing forward on sensible research.

Look, I'm a grown-up, I know people do things out of self-interest and opportunism. I'm going to have to work with people who weren't with me.

Literacy is crucial to creating job opportunities, supporting workers and their families and eradicating poverty in our region, ... Literacy must start in homes and classrooms by giving the children of Los Angeles the best education possible to enable them to pursue their goals and become engaged citizens. I am committed to assembling the resources needed to build the skills of our workers and our children.

I'm here not just for the unions, I'm here for the working families, for the children in this state who understand workers need a voice,

troubling because they confirm that the outage was the result of multiple errors and a lack of communication.

Today we get to celebrate football in Los Angeles.

The fact that this happened the day after September 11 (caused) a heightened sense of concern, ... I am here to assure you that our city is prepared to handle these situations. In fact power was restored to the vast majority of DWP customers, 90 percent, within the first two hours.

The reality is when you have a disaster of that proportion, you need the federal government, ... I think the question is, is the federal government prepared to provide the resources that we need? I think that, clearly, by what we've seen in Louisiana, the jury's out.

We come to work, we come for a better life, we come to participate in the American dream.

Today we say to America - we've come here to work. We clean your toilets. We clean your hotels. We build your houses. We take care of your children. We want you to help us take care of our children as well.

There's no doubt that Proposition 76 would have a devastating impact on public safety,

I stand ready, willing, able and excited about bidding for the 2016 Games,

A few years ago, when (tourists) came to Hollywood, they were frankly a little let down because it didn't seem like that shining emerald of a place that they knew from afar.

It's a deal they can't refuse. Los Angeles makes the absolute best sense.

For Los Angeles, it's an opportunity for us to showcase that you can come from every corner of the earth and live together in harmony and peace and make it in America,

It's going to be a very close election. You won't hear me talk about how we have it in the bag. I think turnout is going to be the key, and I expect turnout is going to be great.

I'm unabashedly a progressive, but I'm not a knee-jerk, either,

I had nothing in my resume to prepare me for this.

Hosting the Games would be not only great for Los Angeles and the nation, but also a world community that is searching for common ground,

Chief Bratton and I are committed to providing a police department that's transparent, accountable and inclusive, ... The days of closed-door internal investigations that do little to advance the public's confidence are over. With today's actions, the LAPD is opening up itself to review by its peers in the law enforcement community and actively seeking to improve its own operations.

Great cities grow and prosper together, ... But for far too long, neighborhoods in need all across Los Angeles have been left behind. My appointees to the CRA commission bring the breadth and depth of experience needed to aggressively move important projects forward to revitalize our neighborhoods, bringing back economic development, jobs and housing.

These kids right here, they're going to be mayors and governors and lawyers and artists and social workers and actors. And you're going to reach for the stars, right? You're going to follow your dreams, right?

The events around Hurricane Katrina, the images, showed America a very dark underbelly of race and class, and all of us should be concerned by what we saw there, ... But in many ways, what we saw there, you could easily see here in the city of Los Angeles, and in Chicago and New York.