Bryan Yambe was born in Tacoma, raised in the region, and now represents District 5 on the Pierce County Council. He was appointed to the seat in 2025 and won a special election that November with more than 57% of the vote to serve out the rest of the term. This August, voters in District 5 sent him to the general election with more than 61% in the primary. Before serving on the County Council, Bryan spent 11 years on the Fife City Council, where he worked to ensure local government worked for everyone, not just the powerful or well-connected.

 

Bryan’s family ties to this region go back generations. His mother's grand-uncle passed through the area on his way to becoming the first Japanese civil engineer to work on the Panama Canal. During World War II, his mother's family was held at Camp Harmony on the Puyallup Fairgrounds before being sent to permanent internment camps. Despite that injustice, her father went on to serve his country, training at nearby Fort Lewis. Bryan was born here, and has built his life's work around service to the community that shaped his family.

 

In his first year on the County Council, Bryan helped pass a balanced budget that protects public safety while investing in behavioral health and crisis response. He established the Pierce County Justice Fund to build a fairer justice system, backed $12.2 million for four affordable housing projects that will preserve 646 homes across the county, and helped secure $400,000 in emergency funding for local food banks when federal SNAP support was at risk.

 

He also volunteers regularly across the district, serving meals to seniors, joining a neighborhood cleanup, packing boxes at a food bank, or mentoring the next generation of local leaders.

 

Bryan's parents shaped his path into public service. His father immigrated to the U.S. and worked his way up from restaurant jobs to tour guide to Metro driver, putting himself through school along the way with the backing of his union. His mother's father went on to become a Boeing engineer, and her mother worked as a college librarian; together they instilled in Bryan a love of learning, a habit of asking questions, and a drive to leave things better than he found them.

 

Bryan is a thoughtful leader and a catalyst for change who  brings more voices to the table and pushes for representation that actually reflects the community. In his first 18 months on council, Bryan is building relationships by hosting community conversations, holding resource fairs, and helping residents navigate government and the resources meant to support their families. It matters most in the often-overlooked unincorporated parts of District 5, where Bryan works to make sure people have real weight in decisions made at the county level.

 

On the Council, he serves as Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee and Vice Chair of the Community Development & Environment Committee, helping shape how the county funds crisis response, housing, and neighborhood investment. He was also chosen to represent Pierce County in the Elected Leadership Group, working with regional partners on a unified approach to homelessness, a problem he believes no single jurisdiction can solve alone.