11.   Freeman said the mayor wanted cash up front or a surcharge on energy sales to cover the credit risk.

12.   He said the mayor at first wanted many panels to meet just once a month.

13.   If the mayor wanted to design an effective minority contracting program with safeguards against abuse, surely he could.

14.   If the mayor wants to raise the standards, he should simply direct the panel to weed out the barely qualified judges.

15.   In Fort Worth, two former mayors want the House seat being vacated by Democrat Pete Geren, who did not seek re-election.

16.   In short, the mayor wants to stay.

17.   It also diverts money that the mayor might otherwise want to direct toward everyday expenses, from foster care to cleaning parks to picking up garbage.

18.   Juan Jose Zarate, a spokesman for Nuevo Laredo, said the mayors want the federal government to bring gasoline prices back under control.

19.   Lackman said the mayor wanted to save the project because the station serves a vibrant commercial area, and the design work is already done.

20.   Lhota declined to say Wednesday how much the mayor wanted to cut, but it appears that he will seek hundreds of millions of dollars in such reductions.