21.   If Brown can then pull the sundered Democratic coalition back together, the experts say, he will probably be the next mayor.

22.   If that proves true, Williams will become the next mayor of Seattle, a guest on Letterman and Leno and cover boy for Magicians Monthly magazine.

23.   In a race that tight, a crack pipe might decide who will be the next mayor.

24.   In Washington, meanwhile, Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was running a distant third in the Democratic primary that would all but determine the next mayor.

25.   Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County, said the next mayor also will have the problem of comparison to Riordan.

26.   Of course, there are environmental issues other than air quality that the next mayor of Houston will have to deal with.

27.   On housing issues, the next mayor will have to balance the concerns of younger white newcomers, older black residents and ambitious Latino immigrants.

28.   On Wednesday night at the Cantab in Central Square, Judy, the gravel-throated bartender and odds-on favorite for next mayor of Cambridge, voiced her displeasure.

29.   One of the most important jobs of the next mayor could be to weather an economic downturn, controlling costs while encouraging business growth.

30.   One thing that can be said for sure is that the next mayor is going to be a much nicer guy than the current one.