Joe Lhota

“The 'Libertarian' thing was a mistake on my part for saying it, but I am.”

“I have voted for a Republican for president ever since I was voting and since I was 18 years old.”

“I was born here in the city, born in the Bronx. Son of a cop. One grandfather was a taxi driver; the other was a firefighter. New York is in my DNA.”

“In 1964, I tried to convince my grandfather, who was active in the New York City firefighters union, to vote for Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson because at the time I thought his approach to limited government was right on.”

“There is no reason for anybody to have an assault weapon.”

“My best quality is that I talk to everyone. My worst quality is that I talk to everyone.”

“What was unique about me being in City Hall during the Giuliani Administration, I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. I may have been the only one who didn't work in a prosecutor's office. So I took a completely different point of view on how the city should be run. Very close to a business, very close on metrics and numbers.”

“I still am a virulent anti-communist. It is a bad system, an immoral system, and one that takes away the rights of people and the rights of individuals. And everywhere it's gone, it's failed.”

“New York is in my DNA.”

“The role of government is to steer us in the right direction, not do all the work for us.”

“My favorite is always the book that I'm currently reading.”

“Margaret Thatcher was a 20th century visionary who understood the power of individual freedom versus the tyranny of government collectivism. She was a loyal supporter and friend of the United States and her terms as prime minister were marked as the beginning of the resurgence of the economy of the United Kingdom.”

“Everybody knows I return all of my phone calls. I pick up my cell phone myself, much to the chagrin of my staff.”

“My earliest memories are of my father explaining to me the American Dream and how he expected me to do better than he did.”

“I've been marching in every single ethnic nationality parade all throughout the City of New York. We're all Americans first and foremost, but people understand their heritage and it's good to see.”

“The mayor of New York is the chief executive of the city. It is a complex organization and it requires the requisite skills to understand how to be the leader of the people and manage the government of N.Y.”

“Rudy Giuliani did some phenomenal things in the city if you think of the transformation of the city and the quality of life.”

“I'm never surprised by the insensitivity of 'The New York Times' editorial board.”

“I was involved as deputy mayor in New York City on 9/11.”

“Would I be the 3rd term of Rudy Giuliani or the 4th term of Mike Bloomberg? It'll be neither. It'll be the first term of Joe Lhota. We're all different.”