Trio of Yelm mayoral candidates talk primary election

With less than a week remaining until the Aug. 5 Thurston County primary election, the three candidates vying for mayor of Yelm — incumbent Joe DePinto, former Mayor JW Foster and local police officer Dustin Stephan — have each stated their cases as to why they believe they’re the best pick to lead Yelm.

The top two candidates in the primary will face each other in the general election in November.

Foster and Stephan each told the Nisqually Valley News that Yelm deserves a “full-time mayor” during separate interviews on Friday, July 25, and Saturday, July 26, respectively.

Foster, who was appointed to mayor in 2016 and served as the elected mayor in Yelm from 2017 to 2021, said his boots-on-the-ground style of leadership is a prime reason he should be elected.

“The reasons that I wanted to get back into the mayor’s office, there are two things I’d like folks to consider: What kind of mayor would you like to see? Someone who is on the street and in the office on a daily basis, representing you, or someone who treats it as a part-time job, focusing on other things they’ve got going on?” Foster asked. “The way I was mayor from 2016 to 2021 was the former. I lived the job as a lifestyle, not a 9-to-5 kind of gig.”

Stephan, a Yelm Police Department officer and local business owner, spoke along the same lines as Foster, stating he’ll “actually advocate for Yelm” and what the city needs “without any hidden agendas.”

“I want to emphasize that Yelm is ready for someone who is going to be here and actually be involved, and not just show up for a photo op here and there. I’ve been in this community since 2013, and since that time, I’ve been actively involved in events just like the barbecue rally and Prairie Days. I’m actively involved — not just here for a handshake and a photo,” Stephan said. “It’s time for new leadership and new ideas, and someone who’s actually going to go and ask the hard questions at the next level of government.”

Yelm’s current mayor, DePinto, told the Nisqually Valley News he doesn’t believe the descriptions of being a “part-time mayor” are accurate. He wants to let his track record speak for itself.

“If you compare what was done in six years versus what I’ve been able to get done in my four years, we’ve gotten a lot more projects done. We’re raising a lot more revenue. We’re going to be lowering water and sewer rates here soon. We’ve done a lot, and for them to say I haven’t been in the office — you’re right,” DePinto said. “I’m out there meeting people at their homes. I’m out there meeting businesses at their place of businesses. I’m meeting with veterans, not at city hall but at their location. For a part-time mayor, we’re sure getting a lot of things done. I’ve also never missed a single city council meeting or study session in the 10 years that I’ve been an elected official. I’m the only candidate for mayor who can say that.”

Each candidate was asked to speak about local small businesses and what their vision for supporting these establishments would be if elected. The incumbent, DePinto, said he’d continue to support local businesses by keeping taxes low.

“The biggest thing is keeping taxes low. Property taxes, I haven’t increased those at all throughout my term,” he said. “I promise I won’t be raising your property taxes during my second term. I think local business owners will appreciate hearing that we’re going to lower sewer rates, which will lower your overall water bill.”

The mayor added that many local businesses are excited for Yelm’s current and ongoing growth due to the potential for new revenue. He believes a big opportunity for business expansion and creation in Yelm is also on the horizon due to the city’s new water reclamation facility being officially up and running.

“They’re excited for the growth because that’s new revenue for them. Some businesses can pull away from Seattle or Olympia, but a lot of businesses in town get a majority of their revenue from local people here in Yelm. They’re excited to have more opportunities for new revenue. I’m looking forward to continually meeting them at our local round tables for business leaders,” DePinto said. “We just turned on the water reclamation on Tuesday. Our water reclamation facility allows for new businesses and residents to come into Yelm by expanding the capacity we once had. When I took office, we were down to less than 100 hookups for businesses and residences, and once we obtained new water rights, businesses started applying to come into Yelm.”

Foster said he’d use a hands-on approach to directly work with local businesses in Yelm in order to learn how the city can further accommodate the establishments.

“I’ll support local businesses the same way I did before when I was mayor. I spent a lot of time with our businesses. In fact, one of the first meetings I convened as mayor when I was appointed in 2016 was with the business committee. Not just the chamber of commerce, but with all of the businesses,” Foster said. “We took care of a lot of issues within the first six months of our administration. I made sure our staff started every conversation off with a ‘yes.’ If a business owner came in with an issue, the staff members would say ‘yes,’ that’s an issue we can help you deal with.’ We would find a way to have a conversation to help that business owner.”

Stephan, the co-owner of Youth Athletics Recreation Development in Yelm, had a different approach in response to what he’d do to help local businesses if elected. He believes the city can expand on the Thurston Economic Development Council agreement to help small businesses while keeping the small-town feel of Yelm and managing growth appropriately.
Stephan would also like to key in on municipal codes that may be causing issues or confusion for local small business owners in Yelm.

“One of the things I’d really like to examine and explore are some updates to some of the codes, specifically with signage,” he said. “I’d love to look at how we can bring on a small business development type of person who can be a partner with small businesses. They could walk them through the process.”

If re-elected, DePinto said he’d like to see the city continue to focus on implementing and upgrading local infrastructure. With upgrades already in place — such as a new water tower by Walmart — he believes development in that portion of the city is inevitable.

“The area by Walmart, that area is going to be developed quickly. We’re likely to see an anchor tenant with a few smaller commercial spaces in the very near future. That’s all because of the infrastructure we’ve been building,” DePinto said. “Finishing the Yelm Loop, creating new roundabouts, adding a new water tower near Walmart, is building new infrastructure so a new Costco or Lowe’s could have the ability to come into Yelm.”

Additionally, DePinto would like to make strides toward constructing a third bridge — aside from a potential JBLM access point bridge for service members — in an attempt to alleviate traffic in Yelm, while creating an easier access point to I-5.

“I’m talking about a new bridge, a new highway system. I’m hoping that folks would consider down by Clearwood in that area. It would bypass our city, go straight down to I-5 and north to the Puyallup area,” he said. “Obviously this is a huge, huge project and will be a long-term plan. I’m talking a decade-long plan, if not longer. But the conversation needs to start now.”

Foster said, if elected, he’d like to expand the current budgeting forecast in city hall from five years, which he claimed was the length, to 15 to 25 years in order to ensure Yelm stays up to date with the services they’re providing its citizens.

“I want to make sure Yelm keeps that Yelm feel. The way I like to say it is ‘keep Yelm, Yelm.’ I was asked where I see Yelm in 10 years, and it’s exactly what I’m talking about with my budgeting. We know the city is growing. We moved into town in 1996 when there were only 3,000 people here, and now with over 10,000 people we feel that Yelm still has a unique, small-town feel. That’s the Yelm I’m talking about. We’ve kept that in a variety of ways, and that’s mainly because of the people,” Foster said. “I think folks are going to like the way Yelm feels in 15, 20 and 25 years down the road.”

If he once again takes office as mayor, Foster said there’s a lot that Yelm can do as a city to provide amenities to residents and visitors. Foster said he’d pursue conversations to work with state legislators to “keep the fire under them” to fulfill promises to the local community.

Foster would also pursue further greenspace opportunities in Yelm, noting Yelm is “behind the per-capita park space” for a city of its size.

“We spent a lot of money on developing Yelm City Park. It’s the gem of our city right now, and we’re very proud of having focused our money on that,” Foster said. “Everybody who drives past it, whether they get out of their car or not, appreciates that and it makes them feel good about their city. We need to do more of that.”

Stephan, a near 20-year veteran in law enforcement, said he’d further invest into YPD if he’s elected as mayor. His goal, if elected, would be to boast a police force that has two patrol members on duty 24/7.

“We have a fantastic police department. Chief (Rob) Carlson does a great job,” Stephan said. “Ultimately, if elected, I’d like to see the department expand. It’s been said that we’ve hired all of these officers in the past year, but those are just replacement officers. That allows for vacation time, training and other things to happen without affecting the community. I’d like to further our footprint in the county. There’s certain things like traffic safety grants that we can look at to give us a better presence in specific areas as it relates to DUI investigations.”

Additionally, Stephan would like to further traffic safety plans for if I-5 were to shut down due to a severe traffic incident.

“The roundabouts are great starts. Some of the other loops that are already in the works, the Southern Loop and such, are long projects and will take a long time to develop. But let’s see what we can do to push those forward,” Stephan said. “One of the big things I’ve talked about is having some sort of actual emergency plan for when I-5 shuts down. It would have to be a discussion on what that looks like and what triggers that, but we need to have a plan in place rather than ‘it is what it is.’ It could be as simple as having manned intersections, or having partnerships with Pierce County at the McKenna light until the roundabout is in.”