Eric Garcetti Quotes

I still have great faith in democracy. I have great belief in the power of community.

We had extremely democratic town councils in medieval Italy which knew the value of working together, and every now and then, down the centuries, this spirit returns.

Democracy is not something that happens, you know, just at election time, and it's not something that happens just with one event. It's an ongoing building process. But it also ought to be a part of our culture, a part of our lives.

An empowered public is the foundation for a stronger society, more effective government, and a more successful state.

To find ways of practicing democracy, not ways of orating about it, is our great problem.

But as important as the job to be done by government in the neighborhoods, the people must also be involved.

It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty.

A constitutional democracy is in serious trouble if its citizenry does not have a certain degree of education and civic virtue.

Democracy, in any active sense, begins and ends in communities small enough for their members to meet face to face.

We have to take our democracy back. We cannot leave it to Facebook or Snapchat or anyone else. We have to take democracy back and renew it. Society is about people and not about technology.

People should look at the government as 'us,' not as 'them' and not in terror.

Our communities are strong because local leaders and active citizens listen and learn from the people they serve.

I'm a citizen in a democracy. To call me an activist would be redundant. It's not a spectator sport. If we all become non-participants, it no longer works.

I think nuance is very important to have in the conversation, nuance that's been lacking for a long time. A lot of voting organizations only exist every four years, putting all this money into "your voice is important!" Wouldn't that be nice, if that's all it took? Voting is the first political action for most people. But if you don't follow up then voting is not actual participation but just a one-off.

There is little hope for democracy if the hearts of men and women in democratic societies cannot be touched by a call to something greater than themselves.

Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.

But, you know, I'm sorry, I think democracy requires participation. I mean, I don't want to proselytize but I do feel some sort of duty to participate in the process in some way other than just blindly getting behind a political party.

We must do more to protect our neighborhoods and give integrity to our community plans.

Democracy doesn't require a whole lot of work of its citizens, but it requires some: It requires taking a good look outside once in a while, and considering the bad news and what it might mean, and making the occasional tough choice, and soberly taking stock of what your real interests are.

If the people of America do not rise up, take ownership of our country, we're going to lose it forever.

As more and more women, men and young people raise their voices and become active in local government, and more local leaders take action for the safety of women and girls, change happens.

Our democracy is not something to be taken for granted. You have to fight for it. You have to commit yourself to working for it - for the long haul.

The government must give men and women without power a real say over what happens to them, and the means of engaging in a participative, invigorated and living democracy.

My foundations support people in the country who care about an open society. It's their work that I'm supporting. So it's not me doing it. But I can empower them. I can support them, and I can help them.

Without the political parties and the volunteering work of their members day in, day out, we would have a very different sort of politics and society.