It's been 35 years since I left school. Almost nine of them were in government; all the rest were in the private sector. And I've proven over time to be a great leader.
— Joe Lhota
Government is to point you in the right direction, and not to do everything for you.
I would leave school every day and walk to my grandparents' house under the El because everyone worked. I was 6 and walking home alone from school. It was a different city and a different time.
I am extremely respectful of the Jewish community. You know, I am Christian. I think of Jews as my older brothers. I mean, there wouldn't be Christianity without the Jewish religion. There is a direct connection between the two of them.
In 1964, I tried to convince my grandfather, who was active in the New York City firefighters union, to vote for Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson because at the time I thought his approach to limited government was right on.
I've been marching in every single ethnic nationality parade all throughout the City of New York. We're all Americans first and foremost, but people understand their heritage and it's good to see.
I know Rudy Giuliani. I like Rudy Giuliani. I worked with him during his administration. But we're completely different people.
We've made tremendous strides and changes in the City of New York since 1994.
I was involved as deputy mayor in New York City on 9/11.
I don't think the Port Authority does a good enough job in anything that they do, quite honestly, but clearly in the area of security. Those cops get paid more than N.Y.P.D. cops, and quite honestly - I know I'm going to get into trouble for saying this - they're nothing more than mall cops.
The 'Libertarian' thing was a mistake on my part for saying it, but I am.
The mayor of New York is the chief executive of the city. It is a complex organization and it requires the requisite skills to understand how to be the leader of the people and manage the government of N.Y.
I'm never surprised by the insensitivity of 'The New York Times' editorial board.
There is no reason for anybody to have an assault weapon.
I still am a virulent anti-communist. It is a bad system, an immoral system, and one that takes away the rights of people and the rights of individuals. And everywhere it's gone, it's failed.
I was born a limited-government person. I've always had this streak going through me.
My earliest memories are of my father explaining to me the American Dream and how he expected me to do better than he did.
My favorite is always the book that I'm currently reading.
Would I be the 3rd term of Rudy Giuliani or the 4th term of Mike Bloomberg? It'll be neither. It'll be the first term of Joe Lhota. We're all different.
There were 23 or 24 separate tax cuts during the Giuliani administration. I'd love to be able to equal that.
What was unique about me being in City Hall during the Giuliani Administration, I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. I may have been the only one who didn't work in a prosecutor's office. So I took a completely different point of view on how the city should be run. Very close to a business, very close on metrics and numbers.
Margaret Thatcher was a 20th century visionary who understood the power of individual freedom versus the tyranny of government collectivism. She was a loyal supporter and friend of the United States and her terms as prime minister were marked as the beginning of the resurgence of the economy of the United Kingdom.
My best quality is that I talk to everyone. My worst quality is that I talk to everyone.
Everybody knows I return all of my phone calls. I pick up my cell phone myself, much to the chagrin of my staff.
This idea of tying me to Giuliani is quite unique. I know Rudy Giuliani. I like Rudy Giuliani. I worked with him during his administration. But we're completely different people.
I do fear God, but I will also tell you that when a doctor diagnoses you and the word 'cancer' comes out of his mouth, at that point, it changes your life and you do fear less and it also has allowed me to be a lot more open as a person. It's changed me.
New York is in my DNA.
I cannot be separated from Rudy Giuliani, but I am also not Rudy Giuliani.
Government should steer, not row.
I was the first one in my family to go to college.
My dad was a New York City cop. His father was a New York City fireman. And my mother's dad was a city taxi driver.
The role of government is to steer us in the right direction, not do all the work for us.
I have Czech, I have Russian, I have English, I have Italian. Uh, what am I missing? A little bit of Irish. The Russian is Jewish. So I'm your classic American mutt.
I was born here in the city, born in the Bronx. Son of a cop. One grandfather was a taxi driver; the other was a firefighter. New York is in my DNA.
Rudy Giuliani did some phenomenal things in the city if you think of the transformation of the city and the quality of life.
What I learned from 9/11 that is really important, first and foremost, you have to motivate all the workers and understand that they've left their families to help clean up a pretty awful situation. Every time you have an emergency management situation, it's all about teamwork.
I have gone to Albany constantly in my capacity as budget director, because I don't think the way the transit authority works with the City of New York is very appropriate.
I was involved in some of the very first meetings that created the maps that showed what would happen if you had a Category 1, 2 or 3 hurricane in New York.
Mayors of New York have been elected not because of their party label, but because of their philosophy and their approach overall, and that has been since time immemoriam in New York, that people are not party-oriented in New York.
The bracelet says 'Fear Nothing.' It was given to me by my friends, and it was made for me and my friends during the period of time that I was going through chemotherapy. And I still wear it, because it's a great reminder of friendship and how my buddies and others came together in my time of need.
I have voted for a Republican for president ever since I was voting and since I was 18 years old.
People should be respected for the strength of their convictions, and I also believe in freedom of expression.
