The Yelm City Council appointed its newest member on June 13 as Amanda Johnstone was sworn in to her new position during its meeting.
Johnstone will take over for James Blair who resigned on April 25.
She was appointed through a ranked-choice vote by the council, who voted for their top five candidates in order of preference. Johnston was selected to the seat after one round of votes, meaning she received the majority of first preference votes, or 50% or more.
Johnston was then immediately sworn in by Mayor Joe DePinto and took a seat with the council.
Before Johnston was appointed, the field of applicants introduced themselves and answered brief questions from members of the council. Johnstone, Lucas Fuller, Bob Isom, Stephanie Kangiser, Kathy Thomas and Tracey Wood were present at the meeting, while Jonathan Woodard-Nave, Julya Hernandez, Jason Harris and James Fredrick Lewis were not.
Once the candidates finished responding to questions, the Yelm City Council took a 30 minute recess to tally their votes.
Amanda Johnstone
During her introduction, Johnstone, who has been a resident of Yelm since 2017, said she was excited to possibly join the council. She currently works as the director of operations for a litigation support company, where she’s been employed for 17 years.
“Being in the corporate world, I have experience with a lot of the things that you guys do on a daily basis, with budget making, policy making, reviewing profit and loss statements, managing a team,” Johnstone said. “I think my business-finance experience transfers over to the government world fairly seamlessly.”
She also volunteers with the “Bridges” program at Mary Bridge Hospital, where she logged 150 volunteer hours in 2022.
Her first question focused on what Johnstone was most critical about when it came to the involvement of members on the council.
“I think the amount of interaction that’s done on Facebook, like the Yelm community groups, is a lot,” Johnstone said. “I think there’s individual, loud voices within these Facebook community groups, that you sometimes see it as ‘this is the voice of the people,’ and I don’t think that’s the true voice. I think it’s a loud voice.”
She added the council would benefit by getting out and talking to people within the community, instead of reading what a small portion of residents have to say on Facebook.
Then, Johnstone was asked if the 2020 election was “legitimate and secure,” to which Johnstone said she believes it was.
She was then asked what her response would be if an official, like a fire marshal or a public health director, informed DePinto an event needed to be canceled for public safety or health reasons.
“I’d agree 100%,” Johnstone said. “People in those positions are the experts in their positions, and the mayor and council should take their expert opinion for that — an expert opinion.”
Johnstone was then asked what she is doing to connect with other citizens in Yelm.
“I was involved in my son’s booster club for a number of years,” Johnstone said. “Mary Bridge is actually working to expand their program beyond Pierce County and Thurston County is the next area they’re looking. I would be at the forefront of that to bring the same program here.”
Other Candidates
Applicant Lucas Fuller, who has lived in Yelm since 2016, said he loves the community and the small town atmosphere reminds him of where he grew up. The retired U.S. Air Force crew chief said he applied for the position because he still has a deep desire to be involved in public service.
Fuller was asked what he would do to “diversify his audience” as a councilor to “make sure that his representation is unbiased.”
Fuller said his job and the amount of people he has met from “all walks of life,” has been a great opportunity to learn from others, while sharing his own experiences at the same time.
“I think it’s important that we touch as many people as possible when it comes to community service,” Fuller said. “That way, we have a good understanding of where people are coming from.”
When asked if the 2020 election was “legitimate and secure,” Fuller said he didn’t have enough information to provide an honest answer.
“There was a lot of political clout and motivations behind each side and I believe it caused a lot of division in this country, which is unfortunate,” Fuller said. “I believe we need to be working together toward a better future than fighting each other.”
Next up was former city councilor Isom, who told the Yelm City Council his application “speaks for itself.”
Isom was asked why he was once again interested in being on the council. He said his initial resignation happened because he took a job that required him to travel eight to 12 days out of the month. While Isom said he couldn’t devote the time then, he said he is now retired.
When Isom was asked whether the 2020 election was legitimate and secure, he questioned why that information was relevant to the council position.
While he didn’t agree with the question being asked, Isom said the election was legitimate and secure since it was certified by the U.S. Senate.
Kangiser, the owner of Bliss Experience in McKenna, said she’d be delighted to serve on the council. Kangiser was asked if she had the time to attend the expected meetings and committees, if she was appointed.
“This was not a light decision for me,” Kangiser said. “As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been following the city council for five years. One of my first city council meetings, I actually brought my children. They were becoming teenagers and I needed them to see there’s a world bigger than them.”
Kangiser was then asked if she had any anxieties about the position, to which she said it would be the ability to voice her thoughts. She added she works well with a team and appreciates a team environment.
Thomas, who moved to Yelm in 2019, said she loves the area and wants to get more involved in the community, while sharing her “expertise in different areas.”
“I’ve been in the quick service/fast food industry since I was 16. You can have situations arise where people are unhappy with their orders, or employees are unhappy with paychecks or schedules,” Thomas said. “I’ve been the general manager of multiple restaurants, and I’ve always done well at crew retention and keeping the peace, while still running a profitable business.”
Thomas was asked how she would define small town values and Brooks said it’s the overall atmosphere of the community.
“I guess when I walk down Main Street here and I see different businesses, and you walk in and they’re very friendly,” Thomas said. “The whole attitude is so much different here. I would go to Burger King, McDonald’s or KFC, and the employees were just so friendly. The managers would just talk to you for no reason and there was an ease about the whole experience.”
The last applicant present at the meeting was Woods, who thanked the council for the opportunity.
Woods was asked if the council was missing anything since he was formerly on the Yelm City Council.
“I don’t think you’re missing anything,” Woods said. “The more different perspectives you can bring in, the better opportunity it is to make decisions. I don’t think you’re missing anything other than just more perspective.”
Woods was then asked what he missed the most about being on the council, to which Woods said the study sessions “more than anything.”
When asked what his strategy for homelessness in Yelm would look like, Woods responded by saying he believes there’s a lot of confusion between “homelessness and vagrancy.”
“The issue with homelessness is folks that are homeless don’t want to be homeless. They want help to get back on their feet to head back in the right direction. I don’t think that’s necessarily one of our biggest problems when it comes to folks around here,” Woods said. “I think what we have is folks that have found it easier to not be involved in society, and to take advantage of those of us paying our taxes and doing what we can to better our environment and community.”
