Pierce County Council starts new year with Democrat majority. Meet the two new members
After several hours of debate and three split partisan votes last week, two new Democrats have joined the Pierce County Council this year. What do we know about them?
Former Parks Tacoma board member Rosie Ayala was chosen by District 4 voters to replace now-Executive Ryan Mello in November, and deputy mayor of Fife Bryan Yambe was appointed by the council on Jan. 14 to represent District 5, replacing now-Assessor Treasurer Marty Campbell.
Their appointments make history: It’s the first time a Latina woman and a man of Japanese descent have served on the Pierce County Council. Both Democrats told The News Tribune recently they valued community engagement and planned to work towards solutions to address affordable housing, budget challenges and economic development, among other topics.
Moving forward, Democrats will have the upper hand in Pierce County politics, with a majority on the council and a Democrat in the Executive’s seat.
District 4 includes downtown Tacoma, Hilltop, Central and South Tacoma and the cities of Fircrest and University Place. District 5 includes the communities of Browns Point, Dash Point, Fife Heights, City of Fife, Midland, North Clover Creek, Tacoma’s Eastside and Northeast Tacoma, Parkland, Spanaway and Summit-Waller and Port of Tacoma.
Salaried county council members make about $137,889 a year as of 2025, according to the county’s current salary class plan.
Ayala to bring parks, education, social service experience to role
In addition to serving two years on the Parks Tacoma Board of Commissioners, Ayala works as director of operations for Foundation for Tacoma Students and serves on the American Leadership Forum board. Ayala is the vice chair of the Tacoma/Pierce County Joint Municipal Action Committee, was the senior director of education for Peace Community Center from 2017-2020 and served as the chair of the Tacoma Arts Commission, according to the Pierce County 2024 Voter’s Pamphlet.
During a recent meeting with The News Tribune in her new county office, Ayala said her experience in local government and community work opened her eyes to the ways that parks, health, housing, child care and youth development are connected, needing both simple and complex solutions.
Ayala, 38, said the South Tacoma area, including the Manitou neighborhood where she lives, is feeling the effects of decades of intentional disinvestment from the city of Tacoma. According to the city’s Equity Index, South Tacomans are more likely to be exposed to poverty and pollution, have less access to parks and open spaces and have fewer educational opportunities and sidewalks than residents who live in other parts of the city.
“[There’s] a need for advocacy for that neighborhood,” Ayala said.
In the past the Pierce County Council has struggled to take a unified regional approach to solve issues like homelessness in tandem with the Tacoma City Council. Ayala said she plans to work with local councils to find solutions for citizens on a variety of issues like child care, housing affordability, homeless shelters, youth engagement and job and life skills training.
Reflecting on what it means to be the first Latina woman to serve on the Pierce County Council, Ayala said there needs to be more people like her in leadership positions.
“I’m sad it took this long, but I’m glad it’s happening,” she said. “And I think as joyous as it is, there’s always that sentiment of like, if we’re really striving to do some representation across the board, we need representation at all levels.”
Ayala said her identity is multifaceted, and her experiences have shaped the unique perspective she brings to the council.
“One Latina representation is not all, but my experience as a first-[generation immigrant], growing up in poverty, first-gen in school, like all those individual identities do make up a profile that help augment what we have historically seen in leadership positions, which tends to be individuals that just have more access to education opportunities, social network[s] or whatnot,” she said. “I’m glad that I could bring the experience of those that don’t have that much access to bring perspective to how we look at policy.”
Yambe brings local government experience, vows to fight for BIPOC
Yambe, 38, joins the Pierce County Council after serving his third stint as the deputy mayor of Fife and his fourth term on the Fife City Council. He was first elected to the Fife City Council in 2013. Yambe has worked as a political field organizer and canvasser and has gotten involved with his local historical society.
During a recent phone call with The News Tribune, the Fife resident said traffic safety, affordable housing, homelessness, transportation improvements and economic development are his main priorities.
“I am very [much] looking forward to meeting with [District 5] community groups and getting to understand the challenges and opportunities that are facing the District,” Yambe said. “There’s nothing like meeting people at their door, meeting people in the community center and hearing [their] priorities.”
Yambe said there are a lot of challenges facing Pierce County, including budget gaps at the local and state level. As someone who was elected during the end of the Great Recession and during the first Trump administration, Yambe said, he’s had to tighten budgets before, and those experiences have made him believe it’s even more important to show up for marginalized and BIPOC communities.
“I work very hard to try to know who I represent and figure out the best ways to address those [problems]. I don’t think government can solve all our problems, but I think that what people often need the most is just a hand to help get through a particular challenge,” he said. “They’re not asking for government to solve their problems. They’re just asking for it to be a little bit easier to do business or live in the communities and serve those communities. And so I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request.”
Yambe said his life philosophy is, “We’re all in these on Earth a finite amount of time. We only have limited time, and what matters is what we do with those opportunities, and what matters is what we do for other people.”
“As an elected, I think that it’s one of my jobs to open the door to opportunities for as many people as I can in as long as I can,” he said. “Making sure that governments are reflective of the people it serves and making sure that more people can see themselves. I think that at the end of the day, if you do that, more people feel heard, and you get better decisions and outcomes.”
Yambe said he is the second Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander to serve on the Pierce County Council and the first man of Japanese descent to serve.
“Growing up, I often didn’t see myself represented in government or entertainment or just in a lot of these spaces. When you grow up and you don’t see yourself in positions of influence or you don’t see yourself on television or represented beyond the old stereotypical trope, it can have an impact on how you see yourself in the world,” he said. “The most important thing is that if you are among the first, it’s so important that you are not among the last. It’s great that we celebrate these accomplishments, and they are accomplishments, and they are not worthy, but at the end of the day, it’s just as important as what you do for the people who have sent you there and your communities.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
