Bill De Blasio Quotes & Sayings

Everything you heard about me is true ... I am not a free marketer ... I believe in the heavy hand of government. — Bill De Blasio

I have my loyalty to the team of my youth. Everyone I knew was a Red Sox fan. The team that I grew up with was constantly the underdog but managed to prevail. — Bill De Blasio

Everyone I knew was a Red Sox fan. Living up there in 1967 - the Impossible Dream season - that moment was incredibly compelling. I just naturally gravitated to the team. Nineteen seventy-five was arguably the greatest World Series of all time. — Bill De Blasio

Going back to high school and college, I believed I would be involved in public service. I literally could not conceptualize anything else. — Bill De Blasio

A holistic solution to income inequality is going to take a lot of work, but every time you prove that one of the strands is achievable and that it has a positive impact on people's lives you take another step towards proving the bigger theory of the case. — Bill De Blasio

We have come too far to go back, my friends. — Bill De Blasio

I haven't smoked marijuana since I was at NYU, — Bill De Blasio

There is nothing wrong with listening. You can listen to people; you can hear people's concerns. You can keep an open mind and still be perfectly strong. — Bill De Blasio

Clearly, Mayor Bloomberg did some things right. I think he did a very good job on public health. He did a very good job on environment. I think he was right to achieve mayoral control of education. I don't think he then applied it the right way. — Bill De Blasio

I've always had a very positive relationship with the municipal labor unions - a respectful relationship. — Bill De Blasio

While this has been a private part of my family's life, it is now clear a media story will soon emerge. My father tragically ended his life while battling terminal cancer in 1979. — Bill De Blasio

We are New Yorkers. Proud citizens of the greatest city on earth. Thinking big isn't new to us. It is the very foundation of who we are. — Bill De Blasio

As N.Y.C. Public Advocate, I released a report that showed that stop-and-frisks of African Americans in 2012 were barely half as likely to yield a weapon as those of white New Yorkers - and a third less likely to yield contraband. Despite this evidence, the vast majority of those stopped are young black and Latino men. — Bill De Blasio

I love the MLB app, because I'm a pretty obsessed baseball fan. — Bill De Blasio

My professional life has been about public service. My personal life I define very intently through my family. — Bill De Blasio

There are a lot of different demands on the campaign trail, but what matters most is that you connect with voters and take the time to really hear their concerns. — Bill De Blasio

My wife and family, to say the least, are the center of my life; they are my grounding. I don't want to sound schmaltzy, but they are my inspiration and you name it. — Bill De Blasio

At a certain point, particularly in his third term, Mayor Bloomberg lost touch with the people he was serving. — Bill De Blasio

There are families of every kind. I think a lot of people are struggling to make sense of their identity in a very complicated world. — Bill De Blasio

I have an activist's desire to improve people's lives. — Bill De Blasio

I am very much a Red Sox fan; I can name you more players than you could possibly imagine. It's just part of who I am. — Bill De Blasio

If we can have a fast food restaurant on almost every corner,
then we can certainly have a garden. — Bill De Blasio

I think like a lot of people in this country I want to see a vision. And, again, that would be true of candidates on all levels. It's time to see a clear, bold vision for progressive economic change. — Bill De Blasio

NY is the city it is today in part because of the contributions from generations of artistic visionaries — Bill De Blasio

I didn't set out with the notion of running for elective office; it sort of grew over time. And I honestly at times questioned if progressive change can be effected through elected office. — Bill De Blasio

I'm someone who does not like a bunker mentality and does not like groupthink. — Bill De Blasio

I think unionization is good public policy. I think when families secure their economic future, that's good for everyone. — Bill De Blasio

I come personally from a broken family, divorced very early in my childhood, a family with its own share of troubles, so I think that was very influential in both me believing that someday I would consistently devote myself to my own family that I created, but I think it also really affects my view of the world. — Bill De Blasio

I think small business is struggling in New York City. It's a fantastic market, it's a very appealing market, there's lots of opportunity, at the same time it's a very difficult place to build a small business. — Bill De Blasio

We do not ask more of the wealthy to punish success; we do it to create more success stories. — Bill De Blasio

I have a bold plan to break from the Bloomberg years, and end the 'Tale of Two Cities' by providing real opportunity to all New Yorkers, no matter where they live. — Bill De Blasio

I think Bloomberg's broad vision of the environment in New York City is something I agree with. I broadly stand with his vision for how to deal with climate change and prepare for future weather events. — Bill De Blasio

I think you can be smart and directed and focused, without being obnoxious, and get plenty done. — Bill De Blasio

My parents were divorced when I was young. I was really brought up by my mother's side of the family. — Bill De Blasio

I believe there's an emerging American majority for progressive economic change. — Bill De Blasio