Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
With the Thursday, Nov. 4, Thurston County general election in the rearview mirror, incumbent Joe DePinto highlighted some of his administration’s goals over the next four years as he’s likely to defeat JW Foster in the race to become Yelm’s mayor.
As of Friday, Nov. 7, DePinto had a strong lead over Foster and sat with 1,166 total votes compared to the challenger’s 864 total votes. Information about the election can be viewed online at results.vote.wa.gov.
Following a long campaign season, DePinto told the Nisqually Valley News on Friday, Nov. 7, that he’s extremely grateful for the opportunity to retake his seat as the City of Yelm’s mayor.
“I’m very deeply grateful for the people of Yelm and their support. This race was personal for me in a way,” DePinto said. “I went up against JW Foster, the person who served last as mayor before me and the same person I challenged way back in 2017 after a year of serving as a city council member. That first contest was decided by 14 votes, and I remember how tight that race was.”
Coming into the 2025 Thurston County general election, DePinto said he knew the race against Foster would be tight. He cited Foster’s efforts in his race for the Thurston County Board of Commissioners against Rachel Grant, and how Foster did really well in Yelm precincts within the county.
DePinto also stated that he respects JW Foster for running for mayor and giving Yelm voters a choice.
“Ultimately, these results were a validation of the work our administration and city council has done over the past four years,” DePinto said. “I’ll carry that mandate forward with humility, and a renewed commitment to serve every single resident. I’m thrilled to win it, and very happy.”
Administration goals
One of the biggest topics of discussion recently has been the proposed Yelm Athletic Complex, and DePinto shared his most recent update regarding the facility to Facebook on Monday, Nov. 3, where he shared that “the City of Yelm is one step closer to pursuing the Yelm Athletic Complex.”
“We’re going to do a lot of public outreach for this whole process. Nothing is set in stone, and it has to go through council,” DePinto said. “This is my vision, my administration’s vision, for the future of Yelm. We want this athletic complex. I’ve heard it through people I meet at doors. People want an indoor swimming facility. People want more baseball fields. We’re very open to having a lot of local partnerships. Get Fit Yelm and Total Sports Development have been great partners in making suggestions and recommendations on what they think would be great for different facilities.”
DePinto reiterated that the Yelm Athletic Complex would not be just his vision, but it would ultimately be the vision of Yelm City Council and the local community. Additionally, the mayor reiterated that he wants to achieve the complex without having to raise taxes for residents.
“I know funding is going to be a big issue. You’re going to see a lot of unique ways to pay for this,” DePinto said. “We’re going to do this without raising taxes. I do want to be clear. We’re going to make this project without raising taxes or taking anyone’s property away.”
DePinto added that eminent domain would not be used as a process to gain property needed for the potential Yelm Athletic Complex. Additionally, he said Yelm City Council will soon discuss a potential sale of the city-owned 640-acres of property. DePinto believes a lot of the money received from the sale of that property could be used towards funding projects like the athletic complex.
“I do what the people want. I’m a very populous kind of candidate. I’m not for going against what the people want. They’ve been loud and clear this election that taxes are already too high,” the mayor said. “I’m not going to bring more taxes. That’s my word. That’s my promise to the people of Yelm. It’s not some political gimmick to win this campaign.
“I sit on these roads. I pay these same taxes. It’s a lot for these residents here,” he continued. “It’s not just for people like me who have a job and can afford it, but it’s also for the people who are on fixed incomes, single parents — there’s a lot of hard working people in Yelm who cannot afford anymore taxes and so I’m not about to increase their local taxes that I can impact here.”
Additionally, DePinto said he’s not going behind city council’s backs as Yelm Athletic Complex conversations progress. He noted there’s been discussions for several years about the project in general.
“My administration has talked about this amongst ourselves for probably four years now, right when I came into office. We want to make something like this happen. We want more ball fields. We want a swimming pool,” DePinto said. “Conversations have evolved over the years, but this has always been the dream. We talked with the parks advisory committee two years ago, and city council has been aware of this for a few years.”
Aside from the aforementioned Yelm Athletic Complex, DePinto said his priorities as mayor will remain the same. He’ll continue to focus on local infrastructure, traffic improvements and public safety throughout the next four years as mayor.
“My priorities will remain the same. The biggest are finishing the fully funded transportation projects that we have like the Yelm Loop and the roundabouts. Those are essential. I want to make sure those are completed before I leave office,” DePinto said. “We’re going to do some more traffic reducing projects, grow the economy and seek federal grants so we don’t have to raise taxes, and other than that, we’re going to be lowering water rates next year. We’re going to be lowering, specifically, the sewer rate which will overall lower your water bill.”
DePinto said he’ll continue to work with MultiCare — where the partners will be working to secure more medical services in Yelm. The mayor noted this would include an emergency care center, similar to the MultiCare facility in Lacey.
