Hi, I'm Joe
I appreciate you visiting my website. I've been serving as Mayor for the City of Yelm since 2022 and served two terms on the Yelm City Council prior from 2016-2021. I was proud to grow up in Yelm and it has been a great honor to serve my hometown as Mayor.
I believe in servant leadership and strive to be a responsible steward of taxpayer money. As Mayor, I have focused on solving our traffic issues, prioritizing infrastructure projects, increasing public safety, and providing more recreational opportunities for both youth and adults. As a believer in term limits, I am seeking my 2nd and final term as Mayor of Yelm. I would appreciate your support, one last time.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. If you see me around town, please say hi. I always love meeting new folks from Yelm.
What I've Been Doing As Mayor
Fully Funding Public Safety
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
- Prioritizing Public Safety and supported our police officers. Budgeted for more officers in my first term than any other Yelm Mayor in at least 30 years.
- We will finally have 2 officers on duty at all times, a campaign promise I made.
- Became the first city in Thurston County to deploy body cameras.
- Increased our budget for jail beds, ensuring criminals are held accountable and not released due to "budget constraints".
- Our officers now train at more than double the State's required hours.
- We increased from 1 SWAT member from Yelm to 3, including our Assistant Police Chief who is a SWAT Incident Commander.
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
- First Yelm Mayor in over 2 decades to not increase property tax I made that promise 4 years ago and kept it. You have my word I won't increase taxes in my next 4 years.
- Grew the economy, which is shown by large increases to sales tax revenue and nearly doubling our B&O Revenue.
- Increased Yelm's credit rating to "AA" which is the highest in Yelm's history.
- Received historic levels of State grant funding for our local projects.
- Created a new position in the City of Yelm that focuses on grant writing.
Creating More Recreational Opportunities
Not increasing taxes, utilizing more grant funding
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
- Hired a communications and recreation coordinator that has created so many wonderful events for adults and children.
- The City of Yelm went from hosting 2 events to nearly 100 that are enjoyed by so many in our community.
- I support local sports and was honored to be in the crowd when Yelm won our first Football State Championship and proud to recognize the State Champs in a city council meeting.
- I will be working to create the Yelm Athletic Complex (YAC) that will be a sports complex for youth and adults. Our community needs and deserves more park space and athletic fields.
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
- Paved the Yelm City Parking Lot (used to be gravel).
- Created a new downtown parking lot.
- Solarized the Yelm Community Center and installed EV chargers at 3 downtown parking lots, funded by grants.
- Started and completed a $37 million renovation of the Water Reclamation Facility that allows us to keep up with all future growth.
- Completed the Mosman Ave project, connecting downtown Yelm to all the new houses past the medical plaza.
- All the park upgrades including the new stage, completed sidewalks, fitness court, handicap swing, and new benches/tables.
- Started and completed the new water tower near Walmart.
- Constructed Yelm's first Dog Park funded almost entirely by grants.
- Worked with Multicare to ensure Yelm had our first urgent care center. Also advocating for more medical services like an emergency care center.
Ending the Traffic in Yelm
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
Increasing Transparency and Communication
- Construction will finally occur on the Yelm Loop, a project that started in the 90s. This has been my biggest priority as Mayor and I have worked tirelessly with partners to ensure this gets built. Utility lines have been moved and construction bids go out later this year.
- In less than 3 years, we conceptualized, planned, and funded 3 new roundabouts (including in front of McKenna Elementary, the bottleneck) which will be built next year. I worked with Representative Barkis to secure funding, a quick timeline, and to be pilot program with WSDOT where we (City of Yelm) are the project managers to get this roundabout done faster.
- Currently working on the next major transportation project, the Southern Loop, which will continue the 4 lane road near all the new housing by Yelm High School to the state route headed to Rainier. It will then connect behind Mill Pond, and go by Prairie Elementary and connect at the Walmart Intersection. Think of Yelm as a giant diamond where outside traffic can move quicker to Lacey or South to I-5 while locals can get around town quicker.
Increasing Transparency and Communication
Investing in Infrastructure and completing projects
Increasing Transparency and Communication
- Hosted Yelm's first ever Town Hall that included elected officials of Yelm from each level of government. I promise to continue having town halls in my 2nd term.
- Created "Community Conversations" where the Police Chief, Public Service Director, and I give updates in an informal setting. These occur the 2nd Wednesday of every month at Noon and once a quarter at 6pm.
- The City of Yelm now utilizes social media accounts to inform residents on events, alerts, and projects.
- First Yelm Mayor to give regular updates and directly respond to comments/tags on Social Media.
- Changed City Hall hours so we are opened earlier and closed later to better serve our residents.
- Updated the city website and will be creating a new website that is easier to navigate as well as see upcoming events.
- Created quarterly stakeholder meetings with the Veteran community and with local business owners/managers.
About Me
Growing Up in Yelm
My parent's brought me to Yelm in 1993 when I was five years old. I attended Prairie Elementary, Mill Pond Intermediate School, Yelm Middle School, and Yelm High School. I had a wonderful childhood here in Yelm and I'm grateful for the opportunities this community gave me. One of my fondest memories was when I was part of the Prairie Elementary choir that met President Clinton and went to D.C. to sing at his inauguration.
I've made lifelong friends here, some of which still live in Yelm. I grew up playing sports (football, baseball, soccer) and was a 4 year letter in tennis at Yelm High School. I was also active in student Government having served as Class Vice President (YHS) and ASB Vice President (New Market Skills Center). After high school, I went on to Eastern Washington University where I studied Government and became a Member of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Theta Lambda Chapter. I served my fraternity as Recruitment Chair, Treasurer, and lastly as President. I was also on the EWU Debate Team and played club tennis.
Throughout all my life, I have been proud to tell people that I am from Yelm. This town has really helped develop me into the person I am today. I am so grateful to the people who elected me. It's been an honor to serve as Mayor of my hometown.
Things I do
I've worked a lot of different jobs in my life including loading/unloading cargo planes during college, a staffer for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Senior Executive Assistant for State Representative Paul Harris, and lobbyist for Outcomes By Levy. I currently work as a contract lobbyist and own/operate an escape room business in Yelm called Quark and Odo's.
In my personal life I have a lot of random things I really like including clam digging, poker, tennis, The Boys and Girls Club, karaoke, the Yelm Eagles, gaming, the Seahawks, Escape Rooms, and Star Trek. My favorite park in Yelm is Cochrane Park and my favorite events are the Nisqually Valley BBQ Rally and the City of Yelm Adult Easter Egg Hunt. Favorite Captain is Picard.
Serving as an Elected Official
I was first elected to the Yelm City Council in 2015 where I served two terms and in 2021 I was elected Mayor for the City of Yelm. During all these years, I have never missed a single city council meeting or study session. I was the youngest Yelm City Councilmember and Mayor ever elected as well as the first of Korean or Asian heritage. As an elected official, I strive to ethically represent the people and know that I work for you, not the other way around. I am fiscally conservative and understand the need to be a wise steward of taxpayer dollars.
As a Councilmember I led efforts to lower water rates, increase transparency, and a lot of learning city best practices and attending trainings which earned me an Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities. I fought to increase funding for public safety and advocated in the State Legislature for Yelm area projects including a new fire station at Lake Lawrence and for the restoration of our historic water tower.
Going from City Council to Mayor, from city policy to city executive, I did have a steep learning curve, but one I was prepared for. As Mayor I have been able to ensure the funding and completion of critical infrastructure projects. At City Hall we have modernized city operations, increased professional trainings for city employees, and focused on increasing customer service. While communications have gotten better there is still a lot we can and will improve on to ensure residents of Yelm know what is going with their local government. Please let me know if you ever want to meet to get an update or be heard, if you're a Yelm resident I will absolutely make time for you.
Help Me get Re-Elected
Your support and contribution means a lot to me. If you are able to contribute anything to my campaign, I would be very grateful. You can use the secure link below with a debit/credit card or mail a check to:
1201 E Yelm Ave
STE 400 #247
Yelm, WA 98597
Please make checks payable to:
Friends of Joe DePinto