Arlington Heights mayor hears Obama's message

Sometimes you're a politician. Sometimes you're a fan.

On Friday, Arlene Mulder was both.

Armed with her own copy of "Audacity of Hope," the Arlington Heights mayor spent Friday morning at the White House where she and about 70 other mayors heard President Barack Obama discuss his stimulus plan.

Mulder flew into Washington, D.C., Thursday night. She and the other mayors were shuttled to the White House for an 8 a.m. light breakfast and meeting with some of Obama's cabinet members including Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Attorney General Eric Holder. After an hour or so, Vice President Joe Biden introduced Obama, Mulder said.

"Biden opened it up by saying he would never be a mayor because the job is too hard," she said. "He got a good laugh out of that one."

When it was Obama's turn, he was a little more serious.

He warned the mayors that he will "call them out" if they waste the money from his massive economic stimulus plan.

"The American people are watching," Obama said. "They need this plan to work. They expect to see the money that they've earned - they've worked so hard to earn - spent on its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud."

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, who leads the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said he welcomed Obama's warning.

"Absolutely. We get called out every day at the local level," Diaz said, drawing laughs from other mayors in a gathering afterward with reporters on the White House driveway. "We have plenty of constituents who will be doing that before the president does."

Mayors cautioned, though, that the stimulus plan will only work if leaders at the state level direct the money to their cities in a clear, timely way.

Mulder agreed.

"Our state has a huge deficit problem right now," she said. "Plans are great, but the most important thing is how it's implemented."

Mulder didn't have a chance to ask Obama a direct question but was able to corner some of his senior advisers during a break.

"I pointed out two things - our small businesses need some attention and I want more support for local transit," Mulder said.

Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins was invited to attend Friday's events at the White House but was forced to stay home at the last minute due to a family emergency.

Mulder flew back to Chicago on Friday.

• Daily Herald staff writer Kim Pohl and The Associated Press contributed to this report.