Politics & Government
O’Leary Heads to Washington D.C. for U.S. Conference of Mayors
Mayor Micheal O'Leary leaves today with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and 250 other mayors from around the country for the 80th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Mayor Micheal O’Leary is among 17 mayors from Los Angeles and Orange County heading out today to the 80th U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington D.C.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa became the president of the Conference of Mayors in June 2011, and the mayors are expected to urge President Barack Obama and Congress to act on a transportation-spending bill that has been stalled in committees. They also plan to point out the absence of cities' needs as an issue in the Republican presidential primary campaign.
Mayor O’Leary told Patch he believes each mayor will have about “10 seconds” to shake Obama’s hand and speak to him.
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“I’m working on what I’m going to say in my 10 seconds,” O’Leary said on Friday. “I’m going to make sure to tell him as much as I can about Culver City,” he said. "I'm hoping he'll remember me by my accent, too."
Asked if he would try and get a photo with the President, O’Leary said that cameras are not allowed, but you can pass your iPhone to the mayor waiting behind you and hopefully have a photo snapped that way.
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“I’ve been paired up with [Beverly Hills Mayor] Barry Brucker,” O’Leary said. “So hopefully we can work something out.”
The conference begins today with remarks by Secretary of Labor
Hilda Solis, and continues through Friday, when Obama senior advisor David Plouffe and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel – Obama’s former White House chief of staff - are scheduled to speak.
The centerpiece of the conference will be Wednesday's release of the
group's State of America's Cities report, which will include 2012 employment forecasts for the nation's metropolitan areas. Los Angeles closed 2011 with an unemployment rate of more than 14 percent, according to city officials.
Villaraigosa is scheduled to deliver a speech addressing the report immediately following its release.
- This article was compiled with information from City News Service.
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