SEATTLE—
A group of southeast Seattle residents have challenged Mayor Mike McGinn to come to their part of the city and see how they live. It's called the "Rainier Valley Live Local Challenge" and is a compilation of ideas from the readers of the Rainier Valley Post.Amber Campbell writes the blog and said they just want the mayor to "walk in their shoes" for a few days. "We think that after 6 weeks of living in the area and enduring some of the day-to-day assaults that people have to deal that they couldn't possibly keep quiet," Campbell said.
Many of Campbell's readers are concerned that the city and the police are too focused on other parts of town. Frustrated readers started sending her ideas about things they'd like the mayor to experience so he'll understand what they go through.
The Challenge Includes: - Live on the Henderson side of the Lake Washington Apartments for four weeks. - Attend a Rainier Beach block watch meeting. - Call the police to report a home burglary and see how long it takes an officer to respond. - Ride the number seven while listening to an iPod, then walk home carrying an arm load of groceries. - Ride light rail between Columbia City and Rainier Beach after dark, and then walk down Henderson to Rainier. - Take a tour of local attractions, including the Rainier Valley abandoned house tour, Genesee Car Ranch and the "hoe stroll" on Rainier between Othello and Rose.
Campbell says riding the bus might be the scariest part of all "the number seven line has become a joke down here because it's so dangerous; they call it the shame train." Campbell admits most of the suggestions are not serious "it was tongue-in-cheek but those are residents who live down here and experience that on a regular basis."
Q13 Fox News caught up with Mayor McGinn as he boarded his own bus home. It wasn't "the seven" but he says that doesn't mean he doesn't get it. A few years ago he was targeted on his way home and robbed at knife point.
The mayor won't be moving south anytime soon, but he is already planning to make changes. "Within a couple of years, we're going to install better lighting, LED lighting in Rainier Beach," he said. Mayor McGinn also talked about plans to put more officers there "we have deployed and will deploy additional officers to that neighborhood."
The people who live there say it's a start. "We're just really looking for some empathy, we all know it's complicated" Campbell said.
