Mayor Quotes

While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago.

I am convinced that your Mayor must take the leadership role in education too.

When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor.

Wherever there are rock 'n' rollers, we'll play. That's what we've been doing for more than 30 years - rock 'n' roll. It's made me everything from an honorary mayor to honorary member of a motorcycle gang.

As Mayor, I will fully support my Arts Commission and its professional selection committees so that they can commission a full range of public art that is daring and, when appropriate, daringly traditional.

One of the most special things about the city of New Orleans is how diverse a people we really are. There's been a new generation of individuals that have all grown up together, so I don't really see myself as a White mayor. I've never seen New Orleans as a Black city.

I want to be a mayor who helped, really helped.

Everybody would love to be mayor of Chicago. If you look at what we have done over many, many years and where we are today and the commitment by the business community, the commitment by the not-for-profit community - all this coming together - this is a wonderful city.

As a former mayor, I know that local governments must have control over land use decisions.

If I go into a restaurant there's a very good chance that I'm going to spend my time being the mayor. If I want to have a good time, I'm happier having dinner here.

I was a little lacking in vision as mayor - I failed to understand the significance that housing and the revitalization of housing means for a city.

As Mayor, I will use my experience to make San Francisco a place where small businesses can thrive.

I do like men and I had, you know, a guy in high school that I wanted to marry desperately. He's the mayor of some small town in Texas. I could be the mayor's wife right now.

As mayor, I'm in the frying pan. I'm just sitting here on the griddle now, and I've got to really think, you know, do I want to stay here on the griddle?

Tonight - by taking this solemn oath - I am no longer a private citizen but the Mayor of the City of Chicago.

If a large city can, after intense intellectual efforts, choose for its mayor a man who merely will not steal from it, we consider it a triumph of the suffrage.

If I were mayor, I'd invite everyone to have free boat trips on the river and free balloon rides over the city. I'd let the elderly in residential homes wander free.

Especially in local elections, because hardly anybody pays attention to those - but it's really important who's mayor and who's on the city council, county commissioners, sheriffs, district attorney, and of course the school board.

What I would like to be remembered for is that Walter Washington changed the spirit of the people of this city, that he came in as mayor when there was hate and greed and misunderstanding among our people and the races were polarized.

Be assured that I did not become the Mayor of Chicago to preside over its decline.

Listen, if the mayor wants to have a debate about education in this city, I got three words: bring it on.

The mayor has got to work closely with a wide variety of people, his city council, state legislature, governor, business community, labor community, president and the congress in order to be able to do this.

Madrid is enjoyed most from the ground, exploring your way through its narrow streets that always lead to some intriguing park, market, tapas bar or street performer. Each night we'd leave our hotel to begin a new adventure in Madrid and nine out of 10 times, we'd walk through the Plaza Mayor.

When I thought about the calibre of people in the room I realized we might just have a credible candidate for Mayor who will would finally enforce the laws of the city. It was almost too good to be true.

The true privilege of being Mayor is that I have the opportunity to be everyone's neighbor.

The job of mayor of London is unbelievably taxing, particularly in the run-up to the Olympics.

I am also a Kentucky Colonel and an Honorary Mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, among other things.

I'm confident that, were I mayor, I would do some things differently than he has. But I think there's a world of difference between him and his immediate predecessor.

What is qualified? What have I been qualified for in my life? I haven't been qualified to be a mayor. I'm not qualified to be a songwriter. I'm not qualified to be a TV producer. I'm not qualified to be a successful businessman. And so, I don't know what qualified means.

I've been doing nineteen hours a day on London, nothing else, I mean this has been my whole life, and writing has been put on one side, and if I'm privileged enough to be the Mayor of this city, then I will not write again.