49 Quotes by Matt Gonzalez

This idea that once you get into politics you are now signed up for lifelong duty being in elective office, makes a fundamental error - and that is believing that the only way you can hold progressive views and implement them is in elective office.

Some types of environmental restoration projects are well-known restored wetlands, for instance, or coal mine reclamation projects. Recently though, larger dam removal projects have started, a number of them in Washington state.

When in some communities selling drugs is so lucrative that that's a pretty big enticement that we have to break down. Part of that is by making opportunities and paying decent wages.

I've run for office, and I've stood on street corners, while people walked by me and didn't want to talk to me, and did not think I was a credible candidate. And then four years later, I was nearly elected mayor of San Francisco, so I know what it takes.

You don’t have to be wealthy to run for mayor. I’m a Green Party candidate running for mayor and I’m being taken seriously.

I think that when we’re talking about youth violence, we’re talking about kids who don’t have opportunities, so they’re engaged in a certain degree of lawlessness, because we as a society have failed them.

If you run for mayor, people say you’re being egotistical. If you decide you won’t run for mayor, people say you’re being self-centered and egotistical.

Certainly other things we can do, we gotta promote after-school employment, give kids an opportunity, raising the minimum wage was part of that, we can’t expect that young people are going to feel they can make a living out there for such low wages.

I have voted to make tough decisions in budgetary times, I’ve served on two recessionary budgets, my opponent has never served on any a budget committee where there was less money to spend than the year before.