Baltimore Mayor To Head US Conference of Mayors

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The mayor of Baltimore will make history in San Francisco at a conference this weekend.

The Baltimore Sun reports Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will be sworn in as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Rawlings-Blake will become the first African-American woman to hold the influential leadership position, and the first Baltimorean. She was elected second vice president of the organization in 2013, putting her in a line of succession to become president.

U.S. Conference of Mayors executive director Tom Cochran says Rawlings-Blake will act as the organization's top spokeswoman during her one-year term, and will lead the group's efforts in setting an agenda for cities across the country.

Rawlings-Blake says she'll use the position to advocate for fixes to Baltimore's problems.

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