Andrew Cuomo Quotes

My father was against the death penalty, and that was hard in the Son of Sam summer when fear was driving the desire for the death penalty.

What made Manhattan Manhattan was the underground infrastructure, that engineering marvel.

I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that's what I'm doing.

I did experiment with marijuana when I was a youth.

I'm a Queens boy at the end of the day.

Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that's who they are and they're the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York ...

I haven't lost my head yet.

I'm governor of New York.

I'm running for governor; I'm not running for a legislative office.

I think there's a lot to learn from Rockefeller on how to pass legislation.

The time has come to return integrity, performance and dignity to New York and make it the Empire State once again.

I am against the death penalty.

The need to understand prescription information can literally be a matter of life and death.

The Declaration of Independence says when government fails, the people have the right to replace it. Well, New York State government has failed and the people have the right, indeed the people have the the people have the obligation, to act.

I want to be the candidate placed on the ballot by the people, not the party.

I don't know people who don't say, boy the government is working better now.

I believe global warming and climate change are real threats to our planet.

A governor can be a very good friend to people. A governor can be a formidable force.

I think naturally my orientation is from my father.

If there's a silver bullet in the battle to recapture Albany, it is the re-engagement of our citizens. This capital has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people.

As my Sicilian grandfather used to say, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, right?

He was the keynote speaker for our better angels.

I'm a harsh critic of the status quo.

I believe we need to attract a new generation of the best and brightest to public service and I believe that government can be a source of inspiration, not degradation.

Lesson 1 from Spitzer: Don't alienate the legislature on Day 1.

I believe public education is the new civil rights battle and I support charter schools.

I'm not going to allow myself to be pushed politically.

There is energy and power in a crisis.

People are rightfully upset about Wall Street abuses and excess.

Fight as hard as you can, and then understand there's going to have to be some amount of reasonable compromise.

Ninety percent of the students take the 'preferred lender.' Why? Because that's the nature of the relationship. You trust the school. The school is in a position of authority.

Lesson from Pataki's success is: Use the political moment.

I respect the state workers and I respect their unions, but we simply can't afford to pay benefits and pensions that are out of line with economic reality.

I'm very big on focus.

You can be a lender who wants to compete and have a better product, but you just can't get to the students. The schools are controlling the access to the students.

New York State is upside down and backwards; high taxes and low performance. The New York State government was at one time a national model. Now, unfortunately, it's a national disgrace. Sometimes, the corruption in Albany could even make Boss Tweed blush.

It's time for the people of the Empire State to strike back.

It's troubling for me as a Catholic to be at odds with the church.

Very few people go into politics to be reviled.

I'm not going to raise taxes; I'm not going to have a wage increase for public employees.

I don't think anyone would argue with the notion that there have been serious abuses on Wall Street.

To be clear ... no one is above the law.

Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people.

There are 10,000 local governments in the state of New York. Ten thousand! Town, village, lighting district, water district, sewer district, a special district to count the other districts in case you missed a district.

When you try to communicate too many ideas, sometimes you wind up communicating nothing.

I know how bad Albany is. I know it better than most. I understand why people are angry. I'm angry. The question is going to be, how do you change Albany, what is the plan for change, and then how do you actually get it done?

There is no dispute that Albany needs to be changed. There is no dispute that the current situation in Albany is untenable. Nobody knows that better than I do.

You know, you cut taxes for the rich sometimes and it sits in a bank account. You cut taxes for the middle class, they will spend the money.

The essential job of government is to facilitate, not frustrate, job development.

I'm going to change everything you believe about HUD.

I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman's right to choose. I believe in marriage equality.

We need marriage equality in every state in this nation. Otherwise, no state really has marriage equality, and we will not rest until it is a reality.