Vicki Wade will be moving away from Newton and its city council

Vicki Wade, a council member for the City of Newton, announced last week that she and her husband have purchased a new home outside of Ward 4 — and outside city limits, and county lines for that matter — and as a result she will be forced to resign her position, leaving her seat to be filled by appointment.

“One of the qualifications of being a city councilperson in any community is to live within the ward that you’re representing,” Wade said at the end of the May 20 city council meeting. “So my seat will be coming open to individuals who are possibly interested in submitting, I’m guessing, an application for a potential appointment.”

Remarking upon her experience, Wade said it is fun being a council member and it is also challenging. She loved being on the city council and for getting a chance to help people and enact changes to the community. She then complimented her Ward 4 residents and businesses for being wonderful to work with.

“I think if you care for your community and you take that caring approach then you will earn trust,” Wade said to prospective Ward 4 appointees.

Newton Mayor Evelyn George thanked Wade for her service and explained a resolution will have to be put on a council agenda to signify the council’s intent to fill the Ward 4 seat by appointment. The public can petition for a special election but will need to contact the city clerk for more information.

Wade will attend her final city council meeting on June 17.

In a follow-up with Newton News, Wade explained she will be moving closer to work and to family members who live near the Des Moines area.

Wade was recruited to another financial firm to help with coaching and recruitment about a year-and-a-half ago. The firm has regional offices in Hiawatha and Johnston. Wade often travels throughout the state, but she does find herself in the Johnson headquarters a few days a week.

One of her work goals this year was also to do more recruiting in the Des Moines area. Coupled with the passing of her mother in December 2023, it opened up the idea of the Wades moving closer to the metro. It will be quite the change for Wade, who has been longtime resident and contributor of the community.

“I have 54 years, just myself, in Newton,” she said. “And Shawn, my husband, gosh, between the two of us we have over 110 years in the community. Our children attended school here. A lot of friendships. I just have one sister who lives in Newton. It used to be that we all lived in Newton when it comes to my family.”

As she and her husband get closer to retirement, Wade said they often talk about where they will end up, where their grandkids will be and where their careers will take them. Wade noted it was not a quick decision to move away from Newton. They had been thinking about it for some time. They planned it out.

“I’m a planner but I also like change, and maybe that’s a good quality to have if you’re on the city council,” she said. “Because even though there are systems and processes with municipalities that are stable and predictable, there is also a lot of change, especially around economic development.”

Wade was first elected to the Ward 4 seat in the 2021 election as a write-in candidate, where she secured 204 votes or roughly 58 percent of the vote. The seat was formerly held by Steve Mullan, but no candidates filed to run for Ward 4. Write-in candidates Wade and Lin Chapé were the clear frontrunners.

At the time, Wade was also the owner of Olive ‘et Boutique, a local retail shop located southwest of the town square, and the president of the then-named Destination Downtown Newton Alliance. Wade ran on being fiscally responsible and improving the city’s appeal by making it a business-friendly environment.

“I accepted the challenge and loved it,” Wade said of her campaign and her subsequent experience on the Newton City Council. “The Ward 4 community and small business owners have been so wonderful to work with. It’s so eye-opening when you are in this seat.”

Especially when someone finally sits in a council seat for the first time and learns the nitty-gritty of city operations and how a community operates, she added.

“It’s eye-opening, and in a good way,” Wade said. “They have a better understanding of why things happen the way they do.”

Looking back on her time on the council, Wade said her resourcefulness and her willingness to help is what drove her, especially when it came to explaining city processes to local businesses or giving them knowledge of grants. This was very important to her as an elected official.

“Yes, I can be a spokesperson for them, but I’d much rather engage them in the process,” she said. “That’s probably one thing that I enjoyed the most, as well as the variety of feedback, comments, concerns. I always looked at every concern as a challenge. I love change and I love a good challenge.”