It happened at their vacation cabin at Lake Wenatchee.
His 11-year-old daughter called 911 as his wife rushed outside and came face to face with the bear when she opened the garage door.
"I thought at first it was a black dog, and then just a couple strides down I realized it was a bear and John had been yelling bear, bear," said Lynn Semler, the councilman's wife.
Wildlife officials said the female black bear - about 10 years old and without cubs - was killed about three hours after the mauling.
There is no word on when the councilman will be released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He had surgery over the weekend for wounds to the upper part of his body.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
