Mayor Friedman Attending National Mayor's Conference

Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman will be among 250 mayors around the country scheduled to attend the 80th Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Friedman will join at least 13 others from Los Angeles and Orange counties to attend the meeting in Washington, D.C.

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.

The conference began Tuesday with remarks by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, a former San Gabriel Valley congresswoman, and continues through Friday.

The mayors will meet with Obama cabinet secretaries and members of Congress throughout the week. 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.