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

People are rightfully upset about Wall Street abuses and excess.

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?

If I’m breathing in 2016, I’ll be happy.

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.

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

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

I’ve worked on the urban agenda all my life. All. My. Life.

There is energy and power in a crisis.

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.

People go into politics because they want the affirmation, and they want the applause.

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

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

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.

I think naturally my orientation is from my father.

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

I am against the death penalty.

I began to understand that suffering and disappointments and melancholy are there not to vex us or cheapen us or deprive us of our dignity but to mature and transfigure us.

Dignity of labour has to be our national duty; it has to be a part of our nature.

To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility – these are marks of maturity and graciousness.

Do not romanticize the poor. We are all people, human beings subject to the same temptations and faults as all others. Our poverty damages our dignity.

What is at stake is human dignity. If a man is not accorded respect he cannot respect himself and if he does not respect himself, he cannot demand it.

Love and dignity cannot share the same abode.

Dignity and love do not blend well, nor do they continue long together.

There is no labor a person does that is undignified; if they do it right.