Sheehan elected to tax assessor’s position
Published 11:15 pm Tuesday, June 3, 2014
By Scottie Brown
The Selma Times-Journal
After Tuesday’s election, Weida Sheehan was announced the winner for tax assessor in Dallas County with 51.5 percent of the votes.
Sheehan, who was appointed to the position after former assessor Frances Hughes retired, said she was thrilled to be elected for the first time to the position.
“I worked hard, and I had a lot of help,” Sheehan said. “I just can’t wait. Tomorrow I can go in and not worry about politicking and go to work.”
Sheehan ran against Franklin Fortier for the position. While Fortier was disappointed with the loss, he understood the voters had made their choice.
“It was a hard fought race,” Fortier said. “We thought we would have faired a little bit better than that, but the citizens of Selma and Dallas County have made their decision. We just have to move on from there.”
Fortier also shared his gratitude with those who supported him during his campaign.
“We really do strongly appreciate their stand,” Fortier said. “We had a lot of people who were dedicated to working, and they had a Herculean effort I thought with the campaign.”
Sheehan also thanked her supporters.
“I thank them all so very much for supporting me, each and every one of them. I appreciate them to the moon and back.”
Prior to taking over the position, Sheehan served as chief clerk under Hughes and has a total of 26 years of experience in the tax assessor’s office.
In an earlier article in the Times-Journal, previewing the tax assessor’s race, Sheehan said her experience in the position should be heavily considered when voters went to the polls.
“A lot of people don’t understand the exact duties of the appraisers office,” Sheehan said. “There are actually two different departments, and everything begins in Mapping and Appraisal.”
Sheehan graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery. Eight years after her high school graduation, she began taking classes at Wallace Community College Selma. Her first job out of Wallace, in the late 80s, was as a clerk in the Tax Assessor’s Office.
