Villaraigosa criticizes Bush administration record on poverty

Villaraigosa, speaking to hundreds of city leaders at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in South Florida, on Sunday criticized the Bush administration for neglecting the nation's poor and called on the next president to increase funding for preschool programs and offer additional low-income tax credits.

"As mayors, we see a financial disaster coming. We see homes in our communities with 'bank owned' signs right next to the picket fence," Villaraigosa said. "We're seeing what happens when a generation of policy-makers accept the conventional wisdom that it's political suicide to talk about waging another war on poverty. The result, we have the worst poverty rate for children in the industrialized world."

The mayor's address on poverty capped a three-day trip to Miami laden with schmoozing and politics.

On Saturday, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama met with Villaraigosa and three other influential Democratic mayors who had been strong backers of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primary, asking for their support -- and received Villaraigosa's enthusiastic endorsement.

Villaraigosa also netted a bundle of contributions for his mayoral reelection campaign at a private fundraiser Saturday night hosted by Bernard Klepach, chairman and chief executive of an airport concession company. The event was held at Klepach's home on South Florida's posh Indian Creek Island.

Last year, Villaraigosa hosted the mayors conference in Los Angeles at a tumultuous time for both him and the city.

The month before the conference, the national airwaves were filled with pictures of Los Angeles Police Department officers beating demonstrators and journalists in MacArthur Park during a May Day immigrant rights rally. Villaraigosa also had separated from his wife of 20 years, admitting later to an extramarital affair with a Telemundo anchorwoman.

Villaraigosa, in an interview this weekend, said during his toughest days in office he tried to stay focused on the two things that mattered most: his children and his job as mayor. He also was quick to list his accomplishments during his three years as mayor: putting more police officers on the street; doing more to aid the homeless than was done in the previous decade; fixing potholes and addressing traffic; and dealing with tight budget times in a fair, measured way.