Image: Barack Obama, The Unites States Conference of Mayors Hans
Deryk  /  AP file In a June 21 speech to mayors in
Miami, candidate Barack Obama promised to invest in "America's
essential but crumbling infrastructure." Investigative reporter
Bill Dedman of By Bill Dedman Investigative reporter updated
11/13/2008 6:05:08 AM ET 2008-11-13T11:05:08  America's mayors
are crying out for help from President-elect Barack Obama,
seeking immediate relief from a national economic crisis that
has slammed budgets in big cities, suburbs and small towns.
Responding to an informal survey by, many mayors called for a
program in the style of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works
Progress Administration to put people back to work and rebuild
neglected roads, bridges and schools. The economy was by far the
most frequently mentioned problem, and fixing the nation's
infrastructure the most frequently mentioned solution. queried
more than 1,000 mayors by e-mail just after Election Day,
seeking their top two suggestions for the