Henry Wade Tapped City’s New Vice Mayor

Newly appointed Vice Mayor Henry Wade stands for a photo inside the council chambers on Dec. 3, 2024. [Monica D. Spencer]

Maricopa City Council, in appointing its vice mayor, tapped a man with more than a decade of elected politics in the city behind him.

The sitting Vice Mayor Amber Liermann named Councilman Henry Wade her successor during tonight’s city council meeting, calling him “a servant at heart.”

“Councilmember Wade has been a leader in our community for many years” she said. “He has a passion to build a sense of community and he makes himself available and he serves selflessly.”

Liermann yesterday told InMaricopa Wade had “a passion to build a real sense of community and connectedness.”

Other council members echoed this sentiment with unanimous approval.

Wade, a Glennwilde resident since 2007, said he felt “very appreciative” of the council’s trust in him.

“They’re my peers, people I respect. For them to select me to be vice mayor means there’s something in me they appreciate,” he said.

It is not Wade’s first stint as vice mayor, a one-year term that entails performing mayoral duties in Smith’s absence. He previously served in the role from 2018 to 2019 before nominating now-Mayor Nancy Smith to the position.

“It’s not something I’m unfamiliar with,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to do some other things that may give me a little more punch as vice mayor. I look forward to it.”

The former Vice Mayor Rich Vitiello, who appointed Liermann, resigned as a councilman in April to pursue a bid for Pinal County supervisor, which he won Nov. 5.

From USAF vet to city council

Wade was born and raised in Los Angeles. He enlisted into the U.S. Air Force in 1973 and was stationed at Luke Air Force Base near Goodyear in a fighter squadron in 1980 before retiring 13 years later.

Wade worked in real estate for more than two decades, during which time he co-founded the Arizona Association of Real Estate Brokers and served on the board of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.

In 2008, Wade began his foray into local politics when he was appointed to the Maricopa Planning and Zoning Commission. He served as a commissioner for four years — one as vice chair — before eyeing a higher office.

Wade has chaired the Pinal County Democratic Party and served on the Maricopa Police Chief’s Citizen Advisory Committee. He ran for county supervisor in 2012, but lost to former Maricopa Mayor Anthony Smith in a 19-point rout.

Two years later, Maricopans elected Wade to the city council in 2014, again in 2018 and for a third term in 2022.

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