Building a Safer, Affordable, and More Connected Pierce County
Bryan was born in Tacoma and has served this community for more than a decade, first on the Fife City Council and now on the County Council. He knows District 5 because he lives it. Here's what he's already delivered and what he's fighting for next.
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Public Safety & Justice
Transportation & Infrastructure
Economic Opportunity & Working Families
Healthy Communities
Conservation & Climate
Equity, Immigrant Rights & Representation
Fiscal Responsibility
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Too many families in District 5 are one rent increase away from losing their home. Bryan voted to approve $12.2 million for four projects that will create or preserve 646 affordable homes, and he was chosen to represent Pierce County in regional leadership on homelessness, because this problem doesn't stop at county lines.
Next, he's focused on building more homes working families can afford, helping people get off the street and into stable housing, preventing evictions, and helping seniors on fixed incomes stay in the homes they've earned, including connecting them with grants for weatherization and small repairs.
Transportation & Infrastructure
Getting around District 5 should be safe whether you drive, ride the bus, walk, or bike. Bryan fought for and secured funding for the county's Phase III of the Pipeline Trail, from Orangegate Park toward South Hill, part of a regional trail that will link downtown Tacoma to South Hill and connect more neighborhoods to safe places to walk and ride.
He's pushing for safer roads and sidewalks across the district, from Dash Point to Summit-Waller to Parkland, stronger bus and light rail connections, and fixes for our worst traffic bottlenecks, including moving the 70th Avenue/Canyon Road crossing and the Milroy Bridge replacement forward, with a goal of zero traffic deaths on county roads.
Healthy Communities
No one in District 5 should go hungry or wait months for mental health care. Bryan directed funding to Eloise's Cooking Pot, the Eastside food bank that serves about 75,000 people a month, and supported emergency food assistance. He also helped approve a $3 million county investment in Trouvés Health Care to build a new residential facility in Tacoma that will provide round-the-clock care for more than 100 people with complex behavioral health needs. He serves on the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Board.
He's working to make sure people in crisis get a trained counselor fast, further promoting the 988 crisis line and similar resources, close the health gaps some neighborhoods face, and protect access to reproductive health care.
Public Safety & Justice
Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood. As Vice Chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee, Bryan voted to create the Pierce County Justice Fund, which dedicates more than $27 million a year to public safety and justice, with a public dashboard so residents can see how every dollar is spent. He also chairs the board of the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, which supports survivors of domestic violence.
He backs our first responders and believes the best way to stop crime is to stop it before it starts. That's why he voted for a county budget that increases funding for after-school programs, youth mentoring and leadership, and youth violence prevention, so young people have safe places to go and caring adults in their corner beyond the bell. He also wants mental health professionals answering mental health calls and a path to treatment instead of a revolving door. He'll keep pushing for accountability and transparency so trust grows on both sides.
Economic Opportunity & Working Families
Bryan comes from a proud union family, from garment factory workers to Boeing engineers to bus drivers. He's carried a union card himself, and he knows a good union job changes everything. On the Council, he championed zoning reform that makes it easier to open childcare, so parents can get to work and providers can grow. He also voted to fund Pierce County Labor's project to turn the former Willard Elementary School on Tacoma's Eastside into a hub for affordable childcare and job training.
More than 14,000 young people in Pierce County, about 1 in 8 between ages 16 and 24, aren't working or in school, and many of them live here in District 5. Building on investments in young people in the 2026–27 county budget he voted for, Bryan wants to further partner with WorkSource Pierce and community organizations to connect these young people with job skills and training. He'll keep fighting for apprenticeships and job training that lead to family-wage careers, support for local small businesses, and public projects built by local workers at fair wages.
Conservation & Climate
The places we love are worth protecting for our kids. Bryan championed and voted for the latest round of Conservation Futures projects, about $6.4 million to protect roughly 248 acres of forest, prairie, wetland, and parkland across Pierce County.
That includes 13 acres along the Pipeline Trail at Waller Road, giving Summit-Waller room for a new neighborhood park with trails and restored habitat along Swan Creek. It also includes 10 acres of rare prairie at PLU, a long-overdue investment in Parkland, a community that has too often been overlooked. Students and Tribal partners gather there each spring to harvest camas. He has also partnered with the Puyallup Tribe to protect cultural resources and fish habitat.
Bryan voted for the updated Sustainability 2030 climate plan, which puts new focus on conserving land and protecting forests, and he'll keep working for clean air and water, cleaner energy, and communities ready for hotter summers and bigger storms.
Equity, Immigrant Rights & Community Representation
Bryan's family knows what it means when government turns its back on people. His mother's family was incarcerated in Japanese American internment camps, and his immigrant relatives saw their hard-earned degrees dismissed. That history is why he stands up for immigrants and refugees today.
He works to make sure every community in Pierce County has a voice at the table, considers how county decisions affect communities of color, and continues a strong partnership with the Puyallup Tribe. He's also fighting to keep federal dollars flowing to local priorities without strings that hurt our neighbors.
Fiscal Responsibility
Respecting Your Tax Dollars
Bryan pledged not to keep the council pay raise in his first year. Instead of sending it back to the county's general fund, he chose to donate the extra pay directly to organizations doing great work for our neighbors: the Mid-County Community Center, Big Homies, and the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, which supports survivors of domestic violence.
He voted to approve the county's 2026–27 budget, which protects the services people count on. He believes in an open budget you can see and in keeping savings on hand in case federal funding is cut. And when the county looks at revenue, he'll fight to make sure working families and seniors on fixed incomes aren't the ones carrying the load.