Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Michelle Wu - Page 2

Our economic competitiveness turns on a thriving, inclusive culture grounded in racial and economic justice.

Boston must take every opportunity to move toward transparent, accountable, equitable development for public health and shared prosperity. That starts with using our votes and our voices to fight for a development approvals process that serves our communities.

We need a T governance structure capable of responding to the depth of our regional transportation crisis while tearing down silos that keep municipal leaders and state officials from working together with urgency on shared goals.

Contact your local legislators to talk about your community's needs. Show up at City Council hearings and demand change.

The coronavirus pandemic has been emotionally taxing for all families, and this time is especially disruptive for those relying on carefully built routines and support systems.

On the fourth Thursday in August, my neighbors and I cordon off the ends of our block and take over the street for an evening. The annual Augustus Ave. block party is an exercise in teamwork and deep democracy.

We love our history in Boston.

Free public transportation is the single biggest step we could take toward economic mobility, racial equity, and climate justice.

The first time I set foot in Boston City Hall, I felt invisible - swallowed up by the cavernous concrete hallways, and shrunk down even more with every checkpoint and looming government counter. My immigrant family tried to stay away from spaces like these.

When Boston harnesses the collective energy, activism, and joy of all our communities, we will make the change we need and deserve - at scale and at street level.

Action at the city level is what will make national momentum possible on our most urgent issues, and this is the level of government where we are closest to people, where we can innovate and move quickly. Most importantly, this is the level of government where we uniquely are in the position to earn the trust of our communities.

When we fall short of meeting community needs - for stable housing, safe streets, open space, reliable transportation, food access, a healthy environment - everyone faces greater vulnerability.

Mental health awareness means ending the stigma of mental illness by sharing the complexities of our stories and fighting to make care accessible to every family.

Aligning private development with community needs for equity and resiliency is one of the most powerful roles of city government.

Carving out space for protected bike lanes is the most cost-effective way to increase our transit capacity and move more people on our streets.

We must build a thriving and inclusive arts, restaurant, and nightlife scene to reflect Boston's culture and diversity.

Everything that I do is shaped by the experiences that I've had with my family and that I've heard in families all across the city who share the same struggles and dreams.

Every municipality in the MBTA's service area has a role to play in driving expanded transit access and equity.

The first time my mom was hospitalized, she was forcibly sedated before I was admitted to see her. When I arrived, someone handed me a plastic bag containing her belongings: the ruined clothes that had been cut off her body with scissors.

I put my name out there and ran for public service because I want more inclusion, diversity, and opportunity... I will fight for those values.

Boston's future depends on taking the lessons from the coronavirus pandemic to tackle big challenges.

The success of Boston's economy is intertwined with the health and well-being of every neighborhood.

During natural disasters or emergencies, the most resilient communities - places that suffer the fewest casualties and rebuild more quickly - are not the wealthiest neighborhoods or ones that have spent the most on physical infrastructure, but rather the communities with the strongest social infrastructure.

Block by block, street by street, our city has the resources, the activism, and the ideas to meet these challenges if we act boldly and reshape what's possible. After all, Boston was founded on a revolutionary promise: that things don't have to be as they always have been.

There's a lot that the city can do, and it depends on having a partnership with community members who are living the realities.

The antidote to the malaise and distrust that led to the rise of Trump is total civic engagement: working together from the grass roots, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, to implement progressive policies that build a fairer city for all.

To be clear, building a seamless and convenient network of protected cycling infrastructure will require trade-offs. On many streets, adding a cycle track means narrowing or removing car lanes, or eliminating on-street parking - scenarios that bring panic to car and business owners.

To reverse the decline of our public transit system and end the transportation disparities that divide our city and region, we must channel calls for change into changed governance.

We need bold proposals to make public transit the most reliable, convenient, and affordable transportation option.

We can solve the car-bike conflict, and the solution unlocks a brighter, more inclusive economic and environmental future for Boston.

The City of Boston and the T need each other. From designating bus-only lanes to implementing transit signal priority, the MBTA and Boston Transportation Department must work together like never before to unclog roads and keep riders on buses and the Green Line moving - for the health of the entire region.

Raising the cost of public transit would burden residents who can least afford transportation alternatives and punish commuters who are doing the most to ease traffic and improve air quality.

City government is the level closest to the people, so our charge uniquely embodies the big and the small.

I am painfully familiar with the impossible juggle for caretakers trying to navigate language and cultural barriers, insurance pitfalls, and their own unyielding work schedules - only to be heartbroken by the limits of medical treatment.

Mobilize your friends and neighbors to understand that your day-to-day involvement with local government matters far more than a referendum on the White House every four years.

When people know and care about their neighbors, they show up for each other in tough times and work together more effectively to boost quality of life in all the times in between.

In this country, we move on after Election Day and focus on the transition of power.

Our continued economic growth depends on solving our transportation crunch.

Investing in free public transportation would establish a right to mobility - the right of every person to access every part of our city, regardless of income level, race, background, or home zip code.

There's magic in seeing slightly familiar faces become new neighborhood friends over ice cream and cold drinks.