MICHAEL NUTTER

Philly is a place where people love change as long as things stay the same for them.

We need sensible gun safety measures. The federal government could do something about this; they could show up.

I got elected as the mayor of Philadelphia and yes I am black. But my responsibility is to all the citizens of the city.

Philadelphians are a gritty, tough people who will help you when you're down.

Vice President Biden is the real deal. He'll give it to you straight. He communicates in a way that I think connects with people at a real level.

Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.

There is no reason for a civilian to have an automatic weapon.

We need to ban assault weapons. We need to ban the high-capacity clips and magazines. We need serious background information, system upgrade.

Mayors could never get away with the kind of nonsense that goes on in Washington. In our world, you either picked up the trash or you didn't. You either moved an abandoned car or you didn't. You either filled a pothole or you didn't. That's what we do every day. And we know how to get this stuff done.

In Philadelphia, our public safety, poverty reduction, health and economic development all start with education. We can't grow the middle class if we don't give our kids the tools they need to innovate and invent.

Our economy grows from the middle out, not the top down.

You know, public service is serious enough on its own, and what I've found is if you take yourself take yourself too seriously in this business, you'll lose sight of what it is that you're trying to get done. So I mean I've tried to have the proper mix of being a serious public servant, but also still being a regular guy.

We all pay federal taxes that we send to Washington and it is not unusual that as Americans we would expect some federal investment in the cities and metro areas because we're the ones that are generating the economic activity.

For those of us in the political business, generally, it's been pretty much an unwritten but understood rule that family and children are out of bounds, that you don't attack someone's family.

You can't really escape the fact that more reasonable gun regulations and procedures need to be in place, a strengthening and tightening of the national background check system. I don't know why any civilian would ever be able to purchase an assault weapon or the parts that go with it.

You get respect when you give respect. That's how you get respect.

I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment. But I think I have a First Amendment right not to be shot.

Mayors are leaders, doers. We get things done, and we are moving America's cities forward.

I'm honored to serve as mayor of my hometown where our founders started America with three simple words: 'We, the people.' And when they said 'people' they didn't mean 'corporations.'

Parents who neglect their children, who don't know where they are, who don't know what they're doing, who don't know who they're hanging out with, you're gonna find yourselves spending some quality time with your kids, in jail, together.

To succeed in big-city politics requires a powerful, motivating vision of a better world, a plan to get there, a willingness to meet constituents on their terms, and a tough political skin.

I think there is a big difference between expressing the pain and anger that many African Americans and other people of color may feel versus language that I think now crosses the line and goes into hate.

If you want to act like a butthead, your butt is going to get locked up.

I didn't run for mayor to be the caretaker of the status quo.

I believe that people, regardless of their station in life, should be able to sit down at a table to a meal - inside away from the heat and cold, the rain and the snow.