Elise Stefanik Quotes

You need to have good people: honourable, capable, committed in politics, standing in public office. It's not a guarantee, but it's the ideal we have to aim for.

When I was first elected to the House in 2006, it was important to me to send a clear message to the people of NY-20: I wanted to be a representative for the people and shed some light on their government, so I became the first member of Congress to post my schedule, my financial disclosures and my earmark requests all online.

I'm not going sell out on the people of state of Florida.

The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected.

It's my father's legacy. My father's view was that the public is the employer of these government employees and has the right to know what they're up to.

Ever since I arrived in Washington in April 2009, I have been fighting for more transparency and accountability in government.

Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in secrecy belongs to all of us.

And one of the things I've tried to do in my first months in office is to give more Georgians - reporters and members of the general public alike - a closer look at how their government works.

After all, I have spent the better part of my adult life insisting that government be open... that government be accessible... and that government be held accountable to people who voted us into office.

You ask men in office to be honest; I ask them to serve the public.

I don't claim any moral or ethical high ground, but I also have chosen not to run for public office. Shouldn't there be a higher standard of conduct for public officials?

As a legislator, I saw how effective I could be by being transparent, posting and explaining all of my votes.

As president, I'm committed to making Washington work better and rebuilding the trust of the people who sent us here.

There are, believe it or not, good politicians.

If governments did not mislead their citizens so often, there would be less need for secrecy, and if leaders knew they could not rely on keeping the public in the dark about what they are doing, they would have a powerful incentive to behave better.

Montanans elected me to the Senate to do away with shady backroom deals and to make government work better.

If we want to truly regain the public's trust, we can provide greater accountability and transparency with a simple step. Let's start by communicating to our constituents about the votes we take.

The people have the right to know what their Agents are doing or have done, and it should not be in the option of the Legislature to conceal their proceedings.

Public officers are the trustees of the people.

Public confidence should govern political appointments.

I am the only public servant and the only Mexican President ever who has made his finances public from before, during, and after public service.

Congress is afraid of the voters, and the voters are looking for leadership.

An honest man in politics shines more there than he would elsewhere.

I have been in public office and have been criticized. I do not object to it. A public official should be willing to be criticized. An agent of the people of this country should be called to account.

The job of elected officials is to answer to the people who sent them to Washington - not to scorn them, not to demean them, not to mock them, and not to sell their jobs and dreams to the highest bidder.