By Carolyn Bick
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Bryan Yambe
Newly elected Pierce County Councilmember Bryan Yambe (D5) was born into politics. From a young age, his family—especially his mother—instilled an interest and investment in politics and how it could help their community. He was eventually elected to the Fife City Council, where he served for 11 years. Yambe was originally appointed to represent District 5, and officially won the seat this past election cycle. He is the first Japanese American to hold a council seat. The Northwest Asian Weekly caught up with Yambe between budget readings to ask him about how it feels to go from appointed to elected, his career path, and why he feels it is important that Asian Americans continue to show up in the political sphere.
NWAW
I was really curious how you got interested in politics in the first place, and particularly if there was someone or something pivotal in your life that spurred your interest.
Bryan Yambe
My mother is a sansei (third-generation) Japanese American. Both of her parents were interned in concentration camps during World War II. Her dad was from Seattle, so they went to Camp Harmony, which is in Pierce County. We had family who went to Heart Mountain, Minidoka, and Tule Lake before it became a segregated camp.
Mom was a big influence in my political journey. She had a teacher in junior high school who was a former state senator from the Seattle area. He had been redistricted out of his seat, and he ended up being a teacher at her school. He was among the youngest elected people to the state legislature at that time. His name was Wayne Angevine. This was around the ‘60s, and the civil rights movement was happening.
[My mom’s] teacher was talking about how politics was the most noble profession that one could aspire to, and got her into it because he was saying that, maybe if we had some people in elected office during World War II, that her parents’ circumstances might have [been different]. I think that idea stuck with her.
When mom graduated from the University of Washington with a communications major, she wanted to continue getting involved in community. Mom wrote a letter to [Seattle City Councilmember] Dolores Sibonga, and Dolores invited her to join the AsianPacific Women’s Caucus.
Mom was a member for a while. The mantra was: If you can, run for office—but not everybody can run for office. If you can join a commission, if you can make sure that we have representation in the room, that is as helpful to the community, and that’s as helpful to our political systems.
Mom kept that to heart, and so when she moved to South King County … [she] got on the first diversity commission for the City of Federal Way back in about 1992. She couldn’t always arrange for a babysitter, and so she took me along to meetings. I was that little kid with his little crayons drawing in the corner, trying to be quiet, and listening to the adults.
It always seemed interesting. It seemed like they were talking about things that mattered—social justice, or equity, trying to make sure that everybody, no matter where they came from, had a place and felt like they belonged. Those little things gave me those early interests.
When I was growing up, [my mom also] told me stories about the Gang of Four … and she told me stories about Wing Luke, and people that I really thought very highly of, early on in my life. Representation’s so important, and I didn’t have that all too much. Ruth Wu was actually a hero to me for a long part of my early life. I even got to get her endorsement and support, so that was kind of like a full circle moment for me.
These community stories were very important in shaping my worldview, my interest in being a bridge builder and builder of community. I recognize that you can’t do things alone. You need other people in the community.
My dad and mom have different perspectives of the world. My dad was an immigrant from Japan, and so his idea was that in America, you can do anything if you work hard. Nothing is impossible. With mom, it was the American Dream, and these things are things that you can take part [in]—but at the same time, it was that you always have to live reading between the lines. You always have to be conscious that government or society could turn on you, and at any second, and you could lose it all.
These two clashing world philosophies were something that I had to wrestle with when I was growing up.
NWAW
What was your first political position?
Yambe
I started volunteering for campaigns since I was in late elementary school. I wrote my first letter to the editor, probably in about 1993. That’s when I was about seven, seven and eight.
My first actual paid position was in 2012 for Organizing for America, which was Obama’s reelection campaign. I think the position was a summer fellow, which then turned into a deputy field organizer. I was out canvassing, doorbelling, and doing voter registration drives and things like that.
NWAW
What was it like to go from appointed to elected on the Pierce County Council?
Yambe
I think that being an elected, you feel that you have more community behind you. That is an enormous difference than just an appointment. I was honored to be appointed, but sometimes you just don’t feel—I don’t think legitimate is the word, but you just don’t feel as comfortable, because you’re not sure where the community is yet sometimes. It’s definitely more affirming.
In Pierce County’s history, there have only been two people of [AANHPI] descent. I am the first Democrat, and I’m the first Japanese American county council member.
I think people want representation and they want responsive leaders. They want people who care about community and show up for community. If they cannot see themselves in the person who is their leader, [whom] they’re interacting with, it’s really hard. Building trust and building relationships I think is significant. For me, it’s always important that you may be among the first, but you want to make sure that you are not among the last.
When I’m serving in office, I’m thinking about my community here. I’m thinking about my district [and] I’m thinking about the AANHPI community. People are watching, whether you see it or not. For me, what’s really important is that, since I’m in here, I need to keep the door open for as many people who come next. That is one of my most sacred duties. None of what we do is done in a vacuum.
…
I understand the enormous weight [that comes with being elected to] serve your district. But at the same time, I recognize that, that for communities of color, specifically ours, I have to do what I can to make sure that, uh, the memories and the experience of those who come before are remembered and honored, and that we have people in government who are willing to stand up for what’s right, even in the face of very extreme racism, xenophobia and things like that.
NWAW
That’s actually a great segue. I wanted to ask how your experience in politics has been different, as a member of the AANHPI community, and particularly the East Asian community.
Yambe
We need to be seen in spaces where there are not many models. I’m not saying that I’m the best model for a lot of things, but at the end of the day, I work hard, I listen, I care about making sure that people like me have more models and examples that they can look up to or at least say, “Hey, if Bryan Yambe out there in Pierce County can do it, maybe I can too.”
That’s the important lesson to me that I’m trying to espouse among people. These may be spaces that aren’t designed for us in mind. It’s clear that many times throughout history, these [spaces] haven’t been, but we are included in the Constitution through amendments. We are just as important as everyone else and being one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, people need to see us more, until it becomes no longer noteworthy.
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