Donovan Slack

USA TODAY

The mayor of Flint, Mich., is in Washington, D.C., trying to get a meeting with President Obama, but she took time out on Tuesday to endorse her pick for the next occupant of the Oval Office.

“I want Hillary,” Mayor Karen Weaver said in a conference call with reporters. “She has actually been the only, the only candidate, whether we’re talking Democratic or Republican, to reach out and talk with us about, ‘What can I do? What kind of help do you need?’ ”

Clinton mentioned the water crisis in Flint during her closing statement at the Democratic debate Sunday, saying “every single American should be outraged” that a predominantly African American, low-income community in the United States has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water while their complaints went unanswered for months.

“I'll tell you what, if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would've been action,” Clinton said.

Weaver said Clinton’s mentioning it during the nationally televised debate drew a much-needed spotlight to her city’s plight and prompted an outpouring of support. But she said more is needed. Obama on Saturday declared a federal emergency, which could free up up to $5 million in aid for Flint, but not a disaster declaration that could have come with more money.

“We need more than just water and filters coming in,” Weaver said, adding that the city's entire water infrastructure needs to be replaced.

While under state-appointed emergency management in April 2014, the city switched its water supply as a cost-cutting move from Lake Huron to the Flint River and state officials failed to require necessary chemicals be added to the river water. As a result, lead leached from pipes and fixtures into the drinking water. Flint switched back in October, but danger remains because of damage to the water distribution system.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is running against Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder should resign over the crisis. Snyder admitted not acting fast enough on complaints about the water in Flint in an interview Monday, though he said he didn’t plan to step down.