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Mayor Of Mayors? Villaraigosa To Preside Over Leadership Conference

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is headed for the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Baltimore on Friday, where he will be sworn in as the organization's president.

As head of the organization, Villaraigosa will succeed Mayor Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, Minn., in a role that calls for him to set the conference's agenda, appoint committee and task force chairs and act as a national spokesman for the group, according to the mayor's office.

The mayor also has a full schedule over the next few days, including a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelis later on Friday, and a panel discussion on "Mayoral Leadership and Engagement in Education," along with Tony Miller, a deputy education secretary.

Although the mayor of Los Angeles has no formal role in education, Villaraigosa has made education one of his priorities since taking office in 2005.

The trip will be Villaraigosa's sixth outside Southern California since late April.

Villaraigosa is expected to return to Los Angeles on Monday.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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