Whether it's on the streets of Philadelphia or New York or Chicago or Atlanta or in a classroom in Newtown, Connecticut, people want to be safe.

If you have a deep-seated need to be loved and admired every day, you shouldn't be in politics. You should go work at a pet store.

All eyes, all attention at the federal level, are on al Qaeda and the war on terror. Fact is, al Qaeda wouldn't last a day in parts of Philadelphia. I've got gangsters with .45s that would run them out of town.

I believe in the critical importance of participating in the political system - from voting to standing for election. It's both rewarding and necessary that men and women of good will and clear thinking engage in honest, open debate.

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

Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.

I think that when we have a better educated society, when there is less violence in our cities, when people get back into the workforce and have the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families - that for me really is the kind of success and the kind of America that I think most of us still want, we aspire to.

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

[...] the only folks who kill black folks any more are black folks. [...] black folks kill more black folks than the KKK ever did.

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

Philadelphia, the foundation of freedom, liberty and democracy, I still believe in the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.