As results from the Tuesday, Aug. 5, Thurston County primary election continue to be tabulated, clear top two candidates have emerged in the four local races — City of Yelm mayor, Yelm City Council Position No. 6, Yelm Community Schools Board Director of District No. 1 and Yelm Community Schools Board of Director of District No. 4.
The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election move on to Thurston County’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. With YCS boundaries falling outside of strictly Thurston County, district residents who reside in McKenna or Roy may vote for the two school board races in Pierce County’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
More information about the election can be found online at https://tinyurl.com/YelmPrimary2025.
Mayoral race
In a repetition of history, Yelm’s current Mayor Joe DePinto and former Mayor JW Foster have advanced to Thurston County’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The two previously squared off in the 2017 general election, when Foster was elected as mayor due to a difference of just 14 votes. Foster, with 633 votes, narrowly defeated DePinto, who had 619 total votes, eight years ago.
A total of 1,261 voters turned out for the City of Yelm mayoral race, and as of Friday, Aug. 8, the incumbent DePinto led all three candidates with 554 votes — good for 43.93% of all total votes. Foster, who previously served as mayor in Yelm from 2016 through 2021, received the second most votes in the primary election with 480, or 38.07%.
The third candidate in the mayor race, Dustin Stephan, received 224 total votes, which was good for 17.76%.
Yelm Community Schools Board Director, District No. 1
Incumbent Frank King and candidate Ray Duncan are currently the top vote receivers in the race for YCS Board Director of District No. 1, and will move on to the general election in respective areas of Thurston and Pierce counties. A total of 4,513 Yelm residents cast their votes for this specific race.
King, who was appointed to the director position in July 2024, was the top vote recipient, hauling in 2,613 total votes in the primary, or 57.9% of votes. Duncan received 1,232 total votes, or 27.3%.
Yelm Community Schools Board Director, District No. 4
Candidate Ryan Jewell and incumbent Debbie Edwards were the top vote recipients in the race for YCS Board Director of District No. 4, and will move on to the general election for YCS voters in Thurston and Pierce counties.
Jewell was the leading candidate in the primary election for the YCS board of directors seat, and received 2,161 total votes or 47.22%. Edwards, who has held this position since Nov. 15, 1984, received 1,688 votes, or 36.89%.
Three other candidates ran for the District No. 4 director position, including Debi Matthews, who received 430 votes, or 9.4%, Miranda Dires, who received 133 votes, or 2.91%, and Terrie Hargreaves, who received 2.67% of total votes.
Yelm City Council Position No. 6
David Johnstone and Nicole Sims are currently the two candidates with the most votes in the race for Yelm City Council’s Position No. 6. They will move on to the Thurston County general election later in the year. A total of 1,209 Yelm residents cast ballots for this race.
Johnstone, who was appointed to the seat earlier in the year, leads all candidates with 390 votes, good for 32.26% of the voting population. He has a narrow lead over Nicole Sims, who received 368 total votes or 30.44%.
Karl Sabaria, a third candidate in the race for Yelm City Council, received 251 votes in the primary — or 20.76% of the voting pool. He was followed by Louise Oliverio with 179 votes, or 14.81%.
