Andrew Cuomo Quotes
Governor of New York
As my Sicilian grandfather used to say, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, right?
You don't build walls; you build bridges between people.
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.
A governor can be a very good friend to people. A governor can be a formidable force.
It's time for the people of the Empire State to strike back.
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.
I am the government.
I believe public education is the new civil rights battle and I support charter schools.
I'm sort of the Antichrist to the Conservative Party.
Fear is a powerful weapon. It can excite and motivate, and it can get people to yell and to scream. But fear has never created a job.
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.
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 believe global warming and climate change are real threats to our planet.
We have a system of jurisprudence. You are innocent until proven guilty. You have a right to counsel. And you have a right to hospitalization if you are ill. That is our system. And it's what makes this country special and what makes this country great.
If I'm breathing in 2016, I'll be happy.
Let's help each other. New York, because New York is first. And then after New York, and after the curve breaks in New York, let's all rush to whoever's second. And then let's all rush to whoever's third. And let's learn from each other and help each other.
I am against the death penalty.
Some people don't support economic development. There are people in the Assembly who say there is no economic development possible; leave it to the private sector.
The time has come to return integrity, performance and dignity to New York and make it the Empire State once again.
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.
The Health Commissioner has given us good advice. It's smarter to keep the COVID patients separate. You don't want a person who goes into a hospital with one situation developing COVID because they happened to be exposed.
I believe discrimination still exists in society and we must fight it in every form.
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?
Fear has never built a community. And fear will never build a nation.
I think naturally my orientation is from my father.
Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people.
Climate change is a controversial subject, right? People will debate whether there is climate change... that's a whole political debate that I don't want to get into. I want to talk about the frequency of extreme weather situations, which is not political.
The need to understand prescription information can literally be a matter of life and death.
I'm tired of being behind this virus. We've been behind this virus from day one. We underestimated this virus. It's more powerful, it's more dangerous than we expected.
I want to be the candidate placed on the ballot by the people, not the party.
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.
I'm a harsh critic of the status quo.
I'm in politics. I'm in government, so nothing surprises me.
I'm governor of New York.
If I weren't doing the politics, I wouldn't be doing my job.
If you go from $7 to $15 in a very short period of time, potentially that could have a negative effect on some economies because that is a very big jump. And you're saying to businesses that employ a large number of minimum wage workers, your payroll is basically going to double. That could have a negative impact. It would have to be studied.
There's a rhythm to the legislative session and there are rhythms to legislative sessions. So I think that's very important to take into consideration when you are deciding what to do when.
Flooding damage is not customary for New York, especially downstate.
I'm not going to allow myself to be pushed politically.
If you ask the American people to choose, between public health and the economy, then it's no contest. No American is going to say, accelerate the economy, at the cost of human life. Because no American is going to say how much a life is worth. Job one has to be save lives. That has to be the priority.
I've been not only articulating the dissatisfaction with Albany, I've been acting on it. I've been very aggressive in bringing public integrity cases and public corruption cases and bringing cases against sitting legislators.
I believe it is actually fomenting the growth of ISIL; Donald Trump could be a recruitment poster for ISIL because he is fanning the flames of hate.
Politicians are good listeners. Because if they're not, they aren't politicians for very long.
The other states look to New York for the progressive direction.
I believe women still face a glass ceiling that must be shattered.
People are rightfully upset about Wall Street abuses and excess.
There is energy and power in a crisis.
I'm a Queens boy at the end of the day.
We don't hand anyone anything in the Democratic Party.
You add one million citizens to the voting rolls in this state, that's a significant, significant difference. You do that nationwide, it's a significant difference.
There's no such thing as a 100-year flood.
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.
When you become president, they don't give you a magic wand that you wave. You have to get legislation passed. You have to get agencies to run programs.
It's a matter of opinion on many of these issues, and there's no right or wrong. That's why we have elections; that's why we have debates. Donald Trump thinks one thing. Hillary Clinton thinks another thing.
Anyone who says there is not a change in weather patterns is denying reality.
The essential job of government is to facilitate, not frustrate, job development.
When you try to communicate too many ideas, sometimes you wind up communicating nothing.
What made Manhattan Manhattan was the underground infrastructure, that engineering marvel.
There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty.
It's troubling for me as a Catholic to be at odds with the church.
Marriage equality changed life for people.
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 believe Wall Street needs serious ongoing regulation.
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.
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.
I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman's right to choose. I believe in marriage equality.
Whether you voted for me or not, going through the Democratic process had made me a better candidate. I am a smarter, better candidate.
I have a portrait of Saint Thomas More in my office.
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.
I never thought I would be divorced.
I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that's what I'm doing.
I worked in the Clinton administration.
People go into politics because they want the affirmation, and they want the applause.
I'm not going to raise taxes; I'm not going to have a wage increase for public employees.
I'm very big on focus.
There is also something called the Legislature. There is something called the press. There is something called people. These are all different players on the stage.
I think there's a lot to learn from Rockefeller on how to pass legislation.
I haven't lost my head yet.
Very few people go into politics to be reviled.
Fight as hard as you can, and then understand there's going to have to be some amount of reasonable compromise.
To be clear... no one is above the law.
I don't think bonuses are always bad.
People who assume I want to run for elected office may be dealing from a bad assumption.
I'm going to change everything you believe about HUD.
Once you start saying, 'Let's talk political, my own politics, my own aspirations,' it can become not just distracting in that it takes time, but it can become confusing and frustrating, and is this now a political agenda or a governmental agenda.
I'm running for governor; I'm not running for a legislative office.
I don't know people who don't say, boy the government is working better now.
Lesson from Pataki's success is: Use the political moment.
I don't think anyone would argue with the notion that there have been serious abuses on Wall Street.
Lesson 1 from Spitzer: Don't alienate the legislature on Day 1.
Some states are doing better than others. Some states naturally have stronger economies. So it's not as simple as saying, 'Let's go to $15.' If you do it wrong, you can hurt the very people you're trying to help.
'Give me your poor.' It didn't say, 'Give me your poor who can afford a $680 citizenship.' If I had my way, it would be free. If I had my way, the state would subsidize every eligible application, period.
I believe in $15 as a minimum wage.
ISIL is saying to a disenfranchised population, 'Come join us. Fight the good fight.' I think we're actually playing into it when they hear Trump's rhetoric. And I think it's dangerous and hurtful as a matter of national policy.
During Hurricane Sandy, we expended billions and billions of dollars, literally. In the handling of the emergency and the construction and the aftermath, trying to get people to come back to the affected communities. So I'm very proud of what the state did.
I will take personal responsibility for transporting the 20,000 ventilators anywhere in this country that they want, once we are past our apex. But don't leave them sitting in a stockpile, and say well we're going to wait and see how we allocate them across the country.
If I get sued for keeping people safe and getting people in from the cold because they were endangering themselves, then so be it.
I think Hillary Clinton is going to do very well in New York, because there's one basic advantage. New Yorkers know Hillary Clinton. She was here for senator. We've seen her work. We've seen her performance.
Former President Shimon Peres was a leader and a statesman, and an especially wonderful friend to all of us. He will be missed dearly.
Fear has never educated a child. Fear has never built a home.