Ritchie Torres

“With ranked choice voting, every vote matters more than ever before, and it matters to every single candidate.”

“Circulating on social media is a vicious lie - a lie that deceptively reframes the terrorism of Hamas as self-defense and deceptively reframes the self-defense of Israel as terrorism.”

“The America COMPETES Act is a bold and comprehensive piece of bipartisan legislation that will ensure the competitiveness and security of the United States economy, especially against the People's Republic of China.”

“New York City should and must embrace crypto if it is to remain the financial capital of the world. We no longer live in a world where our central place in finance can be taken for granted.”

“I never thought life would take me on a journey from the Bronx to Washington, D.C.”

“We have to isolate Putin's regime as a pariah state, and we have to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

“The defund police movement is dead in New York City - and good riddance. And any elected official who's advocating for the abolition and/or even the defunding of police is out of touch with reality and should not be taken seriously.”

“We want better policing. We don't want a total defunding of police.”

“My story is the story of the Bronx, a story of overcoming.”

“As a child of the Bronx who grew up in the projects, I was often too scared to come out of the closet, too blinded to see clearly my own value, my own equality.”

“I spent almost all my life in poverty, raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage, which in the 1990s was $4.25 an hour. And I grew up in public housing, in conditions of mold and mildew, leaks and lead, without reliable heat and hot water in the winter.”

“There's a political party in America that has an almost fanatical opposition to even the most minimal standards of gun safety - and that's the root of the problem.”

“One of the great ironies of our time is that some of the most progressive cities are among the most systemically racist in their housing policies.”

“I can serve as a role model and inspiration to people who see their lives and experiences in mine.”

“I am going to make it a priority to fight for full federal funding for public housing.”

“I'm going to make the case that the progressive position is a two-state solution and promoting dignity for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

“Public housing in New York City has been so savagely defunded by the federal government.”

“I was concerned that if I came out of the closet, that at best, I would face ostracism, and at worst, face violence.”

“I am both black and Latino - there's no need to artificially barricade one from the other.”

“Racial identity is chosen and given. It is as much a product of the world's perception of you as it is of your own conception of yourself.”