Jimmy Matta became mayor of a changing Burien. The bedroom community in which he took up domicile was largely untouched by the explosive growth that struck Seattle in recent years, bringing with it intense wealth as well as increasing inequality and gentrification.
The city no longer enjoys the relative quiet of obscurity.
“We’re turning from a small, bedroom community to an urban city,” Matta said.
The designation comes with a new set of challenges, among them more visible street poverty, drug issues and property destruction.