The Sound Alliance partnered with the Tahoma school district, parents, and other organizations to sway voters to overwhelmingly pass a school bond. Two years ago, the vote on a smaller bond failed to receive the 60% supermajority needed to pass, and failed with 53% of voters supporting it.

This time, Alliance members - led by our building trades members living in the area - negotiated with district leaders to secure a Community Workforce agreement that creates preference for hiring local residents to do the work, for using local business for material and supplies, and that creates a full range of apprenticeship opportunities for recent local graduates. More local benefits, more support.

With that commitment, Alliance members rallied to add their numbers to an already strong citizens committee - door belling in every community neighborhood, sending special mailings and making hundreds of phone calls to their members in the district.

At the end of the day, Tahoma residents voted by an overwhelming 69.5% to support the bond; compared to the April 2011 bond vote, there was a massive increase in yes votes of 74% (from 5,862 to 10,199) and an equally strong increase of 32% in voter turnout.

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