U.S. mayors bring affordability concerns to Atlanta during last stop of national tour

Before a family buys groceries, pays for childcare, or fills the gas tank, one expense often determines what is left for everything else."There's a saying that the rent eats first, and that's true," said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.For the mayors gathered Thursday at Azalea Fresh Market in downtown Atlanta, housing was the biggest concern in a broader affordability crisis reaching into nearly every part of their residents' lives."We will always have that fixed first-of-the-month payment that you know that you're going to have to make, and how large that amount is determines how much money you have for food, for childcare, for health care," Gloria said.Gloria, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, joined Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the mayors of Columbia, South Carolina; Cincinnati; and Hartford, Connecticut, for the final stop of the organization's National Affordability Tour.Their bipartisan message: Cities are working to make everyday life more affordable, but local solutio