Quotes from Antonio Villaraigosa

So laying people off is not something I do lightly, it's not something I relish.

I believe that the mayor of the most diverse city anywhere in the world has to be a uniter, has to be someone that's comfortable in every community, has to be someone that represents all of us.

We're not a homogeneous party, anymore than the Republicans are. But we are a party that I think has a plan to take us forward.

The fact is, when you hear the Republican candidates on immigration, when you see them and hear them talk about contraception, mammograms, abortion, and not the economy, it's clear to me they're moving farther and farther away from the mainstream.

I want to figure out how we put California and America back on track - how we bridge this partisan divide that is so polarizing.

I've always said that L.A. is the city of America's future. It is to the world what London was in the 19th century and New York in the 20th because of the growth of the Pacific Rim countries. We're the portal to the emerging world.

You all know I love L.A., but tonight I really love L.A.

We in Los Angeles, who have ourselves been helped to stand up - to recover and rebuild after a disaster - want to help the families and communities of the Gulf Coast,.

The Democrats and Republicans need to come together. I've criticized Democrats for their unwillingness to address entitlement reform and Social Security and Medicare. Republicans, on the other hand, never saw a tax that they liked, even when it meant closing tax loopholes. They don't want to in any way support any revenue enhancements.

Every president, Democrat or Republican, every Congress, has gotten behind the idea that we have to invest in our highways, our bridges, our roads, our airports. The idea that now this is somehow a partisan issue, it boggles the mind.

You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.

My kids and I are spending time together. And we're enjoying that. Family is important; I was gone a lot in the 20 years of public service.

Don't let the Monday morning quarterbacks stop you from being bold. You've got to set a high bar.

Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.

Actually, as president of the Conference of Mayors, we passed the Simpson-Bowles plan as a template, as a template, as a frame work for moving forward and the president has done the same.

Too many Californians are struggling to make ends meet, pay the bills, and send their kids to college. They are looking for progressive leaders in Washington who will fight for them, like Senator Boxer has done for over 20 years.

I believe in family values, and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don't think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.

There are teachers' unions around the country realizing they want to improve standards of the profession, improve the quality of their profession, and ultimately attract the best and the brightest to their profession. The vast majority of teachers are dedicated and committed.

I don't want to describe either Governor Mitt Romney or the Republicans as stupid, but I will say this - if you look at their platform, the 2012 platform, it looks like it's from another century and maybe even two. It looks like the platform of 1812.

Again, if I was going to call Romney and the Republicans stupid, I'm certainly not going to call the Democrats and President Obama stupid.