Panetta noted the impact that Native American speakers had on him in Alaska.
He pointedly told Mr. Vallone: "There are a lot of used car salesmen in Queens," which the speaker has represented on the Council since 1973.
By contrast, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, has relied on maximum contributions for roughly a third of her $4.5 million, and Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, has collected about a quarter of his $1.7 million in a similar fashion.
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, has called on the agency to use federal stimulus funds to avoid the cuts, although she acknowledged the difficulties of persuading a government agency to adopt an outside plan.
And then we're still free to try and fight the fight over higher rates, offering revenue, which the speaker has put on the table.
Gifford Miller, the City Council speaker, has been silent on the toll question.
During the course of his campaign, the former House speaker has talked tough on hard news, from Occupy Wall Street to the Solyndra bankruptcy scandal.
O.K., the speaker hasn't actually weighed in on our plans for the evening.
If the speaker has inserted a double entendre on purpose, then chances are you are under attack of innuendo.
The meeting was meant to be a light affair, focused on networking and alternative energy issues, but the first speaker had something heavier on his mind.
