Top 138 Quotes & Sayings by Gavin Newsom - Page 2

I've never been a fan of pretense or procrastination. After all, our state is defined by its independent, outspoken spirit.

There's been a gap between perception and reality, the perception being that California is on the cutting edge of gun safety legislation when, in fact, there are a number of areas where we have fallen behind.

We have rules that no longer are relevant to the world we're living in. Our regulatory system can't keep up.

I just butcher a book. Everything I underline I assume is important to me.

California is infamous for passing things and then waking up and saying, 'What the hell did we just pass?'

The question for politicians here is fundamental: You can read the polls, or you can change the polls. Stand up on the things you believe in.

The Republican Party - that was the end of the Republican Party. What Pete Wilson did with the xenophobia and the negative attitude, all this sort of anti-crime backlash.

My mother - it's not one of those waxing-poetic kind of things - she literally worked two or three jobs most of her life. So I personally experienced that, even though I had these great friends and associations who had unlimited amounts of money. That juxtaposition was an interesting one.

The kind of cynical politics of divide and conquer, that's shameful stuff, and I don't know - people live their life like that, but I don't know how they look back and feel good about themselves.

If high-wage, high-cost nations like Germany and Japan can compete on exports, California can.

It's nature-nurture, right? I've been nurtured by Californians.

The people that are serving you gas, the people that are in your restaurants serving you, the firefighters, and police officers are members of the gay and lesbian community. They're members of our broader community.

The whole idea that the Constitution of the United States would be used to advance a political agenda is absurd.

Californians are blessed with the remarkable leadership of Gov. Jerry Brown, who... has led our state to firm fiscal footing and brought us to the enviable position of dreaming - and achieving - big dreams again.

I'm not courting labor. I come from a labor background. To me, it's just intuitive.

There's a secret sauce in California, and I hope people pay attention to it.

Even if Donald Trump's successful, it's the beginning of the end if this rhetoric persists in the Republican Party.

Just because you have a learning difficulty or difference doesn't mean you aren't smart.

Sometimes I will make CliffsNotes of my CliffsNotes.

Since Sandy Hook, I have sat back as a father and been mesmerized by the inability of the federal government to do anything substantively on gun safety.

Even though he's a third-generation San Franciscan, my father's very European in some ways, and he loves wine.

While it was refreshing to finally see an openly gay man speak at a Republican convention, it doesn't remove the stain of selecting Mike Pence, America's most anti-LGBT governor.

Guys like me don't necessarily progress very far, which is fine.

No-Drama Obama? Yeah, that's not me.

Make no mistake: conversion therapy is not about 'praying away the gay.' It's an emotional torture against our most innocent citizens: our children.

When Californians see something we truly believe in, we say so and act accordingly - without evasiveness or equivocation.

I'm not a pundit. I don't want to be a pundit.

Separate is not equal. Civil unions are civil unions. Marriage is marriage. They're different institutions.

At the end of the day, there's not a day that goes by without a mass shooting.

Founders Den provides the kind of collaborative and creative atmosphere to foster new ideas not only for emerging new businesses, but government as well.

Society becomes how we behave.

These Millennials are volunteering more; they're smarter than ever.

I don't learn in a certain way, but I have other skills.

I'm really more of an executive.

I did not love reading, spelling, math and science. I struggled. I was a terrible speller.

The tech genie is out of the bottle; you can't put it back in.

When you have a good idea, the money flows.

You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger champion of high-speed rail than me when the bond went to voters. I believed in it.

I will negotiate with my worst enemy.

It was difficult to realize, 'I'm lieutenant governor.' And Brown appropriately reminded me of that.

You don't have to be something to do something.

If we continue to fight the National Rifle Association on their home court, which is the legislative front, I think we'll continue to be frustrated. But when you have an ability to go directly to the public, that's a completely different field of engagement, and I think the NRA is not adept at that kind of engagement.

I don't know many better training grounds than being mayor of San Francisco - those were pretty intense years in terms of reporting and scrutiny.

I really feel it's time to dissolve the current relationship of governor and lieutenant governor by running as a ticket.

Do what you think is right, because one damn thing is an absolute, certainly: We come and go. Politicians are a dime a dozen.

I act on my principles, whether they're popular or not.

There was a lot of hype about social media in President Obama's first campaign. It was important, but it wasn't as important as I think people let on.

I'll be kicked out before I rust out.

People don't care anymore because they don't believe in us; they don't trust us. And that's why we should change politics, not just accept the cynical frame that, 'Well, that's just politics.'

We are not going to turn our backs on people who have been persecuted, turn our backs on people who have been threatened by terror.

People always thought I'd never get elected outside San Francisco; I was always more worried that I'd never get elected again inside San Francisco.

Do I support a driver's license for everybody? The answer is yes.

If, in this country, a simple majority of people can start stripping away the rights of a protected class in the minority, that's a pretty alarming thing.

I have differences of opinion within my own family, an Irish Catholic family. So, I do respect those that disagree.

Be willing to make bold decisions and be willing to make glorious mistakes. Learn from your mistakes, but you've got to be willing to make them first.

This door's wide-open now. It's going to happen whether you like it or not.

Like any small business owner, I experienced the pressures of building a company from the ground up - developing a business plan, balancing the books, meeting payroll and building a customer base

If you distill the essence of everything, what life is about, every single one of us is given a short moment in time on this planet, and we all have one universal need and desire, and that is to be loved and to love.

Involvement in the arts engages kids in their community, improves self-esteem, reclaims at-risk youth, and builds the creative skills that are required of a 21st century workforce

Failure isn't something to be embarrassed about; it's just proof that you're pushing your limits, trying new things, daring to innovate.