A biography for Ayanna Pressleyhasn’t been written yet.
“I am probably an outsider because I challenge conventional narratives about who should have a seat at the table.”
“In tech communities, we consider disruption the way to lead to innovation.”
“I'm very confident about my ability to earn votes in every neighborhood.”
“I know, given my own life challenges, that there are many non-academic barriers that get in the way of the scholastic and life success of our children and that complicate teaching.”
“You cannot have a government for and by the people if it is not represented by all of the people.”
“I don't think people that make history set out to make it.”
“We need a permanent solution to TPS recipients and develop a path to citizenship. And, more fundamentally, we need to ensure that our immigration policies treat those coming to this country with the dignity and compassion that should be afforded to all human beings and immediately stop tearing families apart.”
“One of my priorities is criminal justice reform, and there is certainly bipartisan appetite for that. I think we need to eliminate the cash bail system. We need to eliminate mandatory minimums. We need sentencing reform. I think we need parole reform as well.”
“If elected, I will work with federal leaders to rehouse the non-immigration enforcement functions of ICE - including human trafficking and money laundering investigations - elsewhere in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while immediately eliminating funding for enforcement and removal functions.”
“Plans without price tags are simply pandering.”
“I will sit at the table and compromise with anyone in the name of progress, but there are things I'm not willing to compromise and negotiate on, and that is the rights of women, of immigrants, of workers, and of the LGBTQIA community.”
“I don't have stars in my eyes. I'm not personally ambitious. I'm very aspirational.”
“People close to me personally, politically, have expressed frustration that I'm not the political animal that they wish that I were.”
“Race is a factor in everything.”
“True enough, Trump is a formidable foe, and systemic inequalities and disparities are worsening under this administration. But they existed long before that. And I want to lead, organize, and legislate to disrupt these disparate outcomes.”
“Just as every animal is part of a kingdom, phylum, class, and order, every Dorchester resident has a parish, school, park, and neighborhood that they identify with.”
“I used to turn in, like, 20 money orders to pay my rent - $20 for this one, $30 for this one. I didn't have a checking account.”
“Our immigration system is fundamentally broken, and ICE's role in supporting the existing system - including separating families seeking refuge in the United States and conducting indiscriminate deportation raids in our communities - is creating an atmosphere of toxic fear and mistrust in immigrant communities.”