From the Office of Yelm Mayor-Elect Joe DePinto:

• Editor’s note: Mayor-elect DePinto’s choice for Interim City Administrator is an innovative and exceptionally well thought out selection.
• Chief Stancil has a sterling reputation that will bring much needed integrity and stability to city hall on Day 1.
• DePinto’s masterful appointment of Chief Stancil demonstrates he is ready for the challenges ahead.
• Mayor-elect DePinto recently met with new Secretary of State Steve Hobbs on election cyber security (below).
• “This IS our town,” quoting DePinto’s campaign slogan.
• From the Press Release:

MAYOR-ELECT JOE DEPINTO TO SELECT POLICE CHIEF TODD STANCIL AS INTERIM CITY ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CITY OF YELM

“With the recent resignation of Yelm City Administrator Michael Grayum, Police Chief Todd Stancil will serve as the Interim City Administrator effective January 1st 2022. Chief Stancil will supervise, monitor, and coordinate the activities of our various departments as we seek to fill the position permanently.

“In response to the decision, Chief Stancil stated the following, “’ am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as the Interim City Administrator for the City of Yelm. 20 years ago I was appointed by Mayor Adam Rivas to serve the citizens of Yelm as the Chief of Police for the Yelm Police Department. Now, 20 years later, I have the opportunity to serve and work with every city employee, elected official and the citizens in our great community in this new position. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that the City of Yelm has provided my family and me throughout my career. I am confident that my leadership style and experience will benefit our amazing city staff and department managers. I am excited about the next chapter and want to thank Mayor-elect Joe DePinto for his respect and trust to be part of the future of Yelm.'”

“‘I am confident Chief Stancil is the right person to lend stability and experience during this transitional period,’ states DePinto. ‘His decades of service to the city of Yelm and his leadership abilities will allow us to move from the Foster administration to my own in a seamless process. I have known Chief Stancil for a very long time and trust him implicitly. He was my DARE officer at Prairie Elementary, my football coach at YMS, my police chief as a councilmember, and I look forward to working with him in his role as Interim City Administrator,’ DePinto concludes.

“Stancil will remain the police chief but will relinquish some day to day duties to Assistant Chief Rob Carlson. The search for a permanent City Administrator will begin as soon as possible and will be a transparent process. An appointment by Mayor-Elect DePinto and confirmation by the city council is expected to occur in the first half of 2022.”

Mayor-elect Joe DePinto’s Facebook post, December 20, 2021:

“I recently met with our new Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. We discussed Yelm as well as his plans to bolster cyber security in Washington elections. I will be working with city staff when I take office to implement some immediate changes to increase our cyber security in Yelm and will work to ensure we are best prepared against these new cyber threats that municipalities have faced over these past few years.We have a good IT department in Yelm who are very proactive in ensuring our online security. I promise I will support them 100% in their efforts to guard us against any possible online attacks.”