About Joe DePinto

My Priorities

Yelm has been my home since I moved here when I was 5 years old.  My childhood growing up in Yelm has been truly wonderful.  One of my fondest memories was at Prairie Elementary when President Clinton came to speak during his re-election campaign and being able to sing to him as part of the choir and having him invite us to sing to him during his inauguration.  I witnessed this great community join together to raise over $120,000 and send our choir to Washington, D.C.  an experience I will never forget. 

I am a product of Yelm Community Schools, having also gone to Mill Pond, Yelm Middle School and Yelm High School.  After high school I was able to attend Eastern Washington University, the first in my family to attend college, through the Achievers Scholarship funded mainly through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  There I majored in Government with minors in History and Communication.  At EWU I became a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity, where I eventually was elected treasurer and later President.  I was also a member of Eastern’s Debate team as well as President of the College Republicans. 

During college I applied for an internship with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and got it.  That internship then turned into a job with her in the position of Congressional Fellow for multimedia.  After EWU and the Congresswoman’s office, I went to work at the State Legislature where I worked as Executive Legislative Assistant to State Representative Paul Harris, who at the time was House Republican Whip.  After working in the public sector for over 5 years, I am now working as a lobbyist in Olympia for cities and small businesses. 

I am proud to tell the people who ask where I come from, Yelm.  This town has given me so much, and is a big part of who I am.  I am honored to serve on the city council and will do my best to give back to this community, everything it has given me. 

  • Completion of SR 510 (The Yelm  Loop)​ and creating new connections to get residents to their destination quicker
  • Preventing water rates from rising
  • Bringing in new jobs with family wages and diversifying the economy
  • ​Rebranding and expanding our Industrial Park to attract manufacturing businesses
  • Preventing tax and fee increases​ 
  • Increasing public safety and having two officers on at all times
  • Maintaining an Efficient and Accessible Government
  • Creating a Recreation Department
  • Bring in a Yelm Branch YMCA with a swimming pool
  • Creating regional and international partnerships to improve our economy
  • ​Leverage more state and federal funding than ever before