The first batch of unofficial results from the Tuesday, Aug. 5, Thurston County primary election rolled in just after 8 p.m. and showed incumbent Mayor Joe DePinto leading the mayoral race over his two challengers while one candidate leads over a longtime incumbent in the race for Yelm School District Board of Director Position No. 4.
The two candidates who receive the most votes in each race will move on to ballots in the Thurston County general election set for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Additional tallies will be released in the coming days, with the election set to be certified later this month.
Mayor of Yelm
DePinto, who was elected Mayor of Yelm in 2021, reeled in 307 votes, or 43.06% of the total votes, in the unofficial results released on Aug. 5. He was followed by former mayor JW Foster, who received 266 votes or 37.31% of ballots cast. Dustin Stephan, current YPD officer, received 138 votes or 19.35% of ballots in his favor.
Yelm City Council Position No. 6
David Johnstone, who was appointed to Yelm City Council’s Position No. 6 seat earlier in the summer, had the most votes in the first batch of unofficial primary results. He received 223 votes, or 32.75% of ballots, in his favor. He was followed by Nicole Sims with 202 votes, or 29.66% of voters, marking her name on their ballots.
Karl O. Sabaria received 139 votes for 20.41% of voters, while Louise Oliverio received 103 total votes, or 15.12%.
Yelm School Board Director, District No. 1
Frank King, who was sworn into his role as District No. 1 Director for Yelm Community Schools in July of 2024, received 1,726 total votes. He was followed by Ray Duncan, who received 736 votes, Angela Gardner received 413 votes.
Yelm School Board Director, District No. 4
Ryan Jewell led the Yelm School Board Director, District No. 4 race over incumbent longtime director Debbie Edwards. He had 1,386 total votes. Edwards, who has served her role since 1984, received 1,101 votes.
Additionally, Debi Matthews received 266 total votes for the board seat, while Miranda Dries received 91 votes. Terrie Hargreaves also received 84 votes.
