Race for Pierce County Council seat gets interesting as Republican leads primary
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Republican Terry Wise and Democrat Bryan Yambe advanced in District 5 race.
- Democrats risk losing Pierce County Council majority if Wise wins in November.
- Yambe raised $60,209 for his campaign; Wise reported raising $51,114 to date.
Update: Bryan Yambe pulled ahead in the August primary election, according to the final report. Yambe received 41.89% of the vote, Terry Wise received 39.76% and Kimber Starr trailed behind with 18.27% of the vote.
Original post: Democrats’ upper hand in Pierce County government faces a challenge with a Republican poised to advance to the general election to take on the Democrat incumbent for a seat on the Pierce County Council.
Republican Terry Wise was ahead with 42.68% of the vote after the first tally of votes in Tuesday’s primary election. Incumbent Democrat Bryan Yambe had 38.17% of the vote. Democrat Kimber Starr was trailing with 19.03% of the vote. The top two vote getters advance to the November ballot.
Democrats hold a majority on the Pierce County Council and with a Democrat Executive have the upper hand in Pierce County government. If Wise, a real-estate broker and land-use consultant, wins in the general election that would change.
Yambe was appointed to the District 5 seat after several hours of debate in January. Starr was considered by the Pierce County Council in January as well.
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, 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.
Learn more about how to register to vote, who your candidates will be and where your nearest ballot box is online at the Pierce County Elections website.
Who are the candidates?
As previously reported by The News Tribune, Wise is a longtime real-estate broker and land-use consultant who lives in the Mid-County area of unincorporated Pierce County. He has served on the Mid-County and Frederickson Land Use Advisory Commission, the Puyallup and Pierce County Housing Advisory Board and is a member of the Commercial Brokers Association and Master Builders Association, he said Tuesday. Wise said he believes the private and public sector need to be more collaborative and that he could provider better leadership. Wise said he would bring expertise in land use and housing to the role and described himself as a collaborative leader that builds people up to a common goal. He has raised $51,114 and spent $31,103 on his campaign, according to public disclosures.
Yambe served three stints as deputy mayor of Fife and four terms on the Fife City Council. In interviews with the council in January, Yambe said he is most proud of bringing people together, finding compromise and building community. Yambe said traffic safety, affordable housing, homelessness, transportation improvements and economic development were his main priorities, in an interview with The News Tribune earlier this year. He had raised $60,209 and spent $45,932 on his campaign, according to public disclosures.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 8:30 PM.
