Antonio Villaraigosa

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

“Everybody knows that L.A. is known for its addiction to the single-passenger automobile, the gridlock, the congestion on the freeways.”

“How you are perceived is over a continuum of time. So I just keep on working. I've kind of always seen that as the antidote. Just keep on working.”

“I'm excited about Los Angeles because I believe in her. I believe in her destiny. I think that the fact that we have so many different people from so many parts of the world is a big reason why L.A. is the city of America's promise.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I want to figure out how we put California and America back on track - how we bridge this partisan divide that is so polarizing.”

“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.”

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

“I want to be known as the mayor who happens to be Latino who made a difference. I ran to make a difference.”

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

“For some time, I've said this issue of comprehensive immigration reform is not just an issue about immigration or human rights or civil rights, it's about our economy. You take 11 million people from out of the dark and into the light. The think tanks have surmised that you are talking about trillions of dollars infused into the economy.”

“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.”

“The Golden State has lost its luster. We've got to change our tax system and how we fund government. We're going to have to make it easier to create jobs in California, incentivize manufacturing, really put more in the way of investment in our public school system and our institutions of higher learning if we're going to stay the Golden State.”

“Every president, Democrat or Republican, every Congress, has gotten behind the idea that we have to invest in our highways, our bridges, our roads, our airports. The idea that now this is somehow a partisan issue, it boggles the mind.”

“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.”

“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.”