Arcadia braces for questions, prepares to pick new mayor, as city reacts to councilwoman's resignation

At Arcadia's Shops at Santa Anita, at tea shops, school parking lots, and grocery stores, what little talk of their mayor resigning and admitting to acting as an agent for the Chinese government is mostly dismissive and casual, veering from chagrin and minor embarrassment to jokes about spy movies and political scandals.

But at City Hall this week, leaders are bracing for a barrage of questions as they prepare to pick a new member on the City Council, someone to replace Eileen Wang, who resigned after federal authorities on May 11 charged her with one felony count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

The news prompted a kind of split-screen moment in the small, affluent foothill suburn. On one hand, even amid news of President Trump's much-publicized trip to China, the specter of Arcadia's mayor posting propoganda for China ranged from a mere blip to wanting to know more to a city scrambling to answer questions from concerned citizens.

Along Fairgrove Avenue in District 3, which former Mayor Eileen Wang represented, concern about her alleged propaganda activities was mild.

Between apartment complexes, residents who said they voted for Wang in the last mayoral election were either concerned the news was sparse on details about Wang's federal indictment or didn't know about the charges at all.

Christina Hernandez, who said she voted for Wang, wanted more details about the invesitgation.

"I found out on the news, but I think we need more information to find out if she's really, you know, guilty," she said.

Richard Johnson said his city "seemed like a strange place for a spy to be located."

A longtime Arcadia resident who asked to remain anonymous out of privacy concerns, said the news leaves a stain on his local government, but that it looks like leaders are acting quickly to mitigate any impact.

"It will be interesting to see who the City Council picks to step in next week," he said, while also admitting learning about a direct line between a foreign government and a local official feels like a breach of public trust.

He said he didn't know city officials have stressed the charges are for activities Wang conducted before she was sworn into office.

Wang, 58, was elected to Arcadia's City Council in November 2022, one of five officials who serve as mayor on a rotating basis.

Federal officials said Wang is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks to sharing articles favorable to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the bidding of PRC officials through the news website U.S. News Center, which she ran with her then-fiance, Yaoning "Mike" Sun.

Sun, who was listed as Wang's campaign manager in 2022, is serving a four-year sentence in federal prison. The Chino Hills resident admitted acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the Chinese government from 2022 to 2024 without notifying the U.S. attorney general as required by law.

Arcadia city manager Dominic Lazzaretto was quick to reassure residents that the investigation concerns individual conduct, and "the charges are for conduct that ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022. Following an internal review, we can confirm that no city finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved."

He said that on Tuesday the governing body will choose Wang's replacement as mayor from among the four councilmembers. Paul Cheng is the city's mayor pro tem. His other colleagues are Dr. Michael Cao, David Fu, and Sharon Kwan.

They will also be selecting a representative of District 3, the central and southern portion of the city that borders Temple City and Duarte, which Wang represented.

Lazzaretto has been busy reassuring those who were concerned by the charges that the rest of City Hall has not been tainted.

"We have found no actions that require reconsideration or that are invalidated as a result of these developments," Lazzaretto said in the statement. "The remainder of the City Council is not under investigation, and City operations continue without interruption."

On May 19, the council has a few options to address the vacancy, according to Justine Bruno, assistant city manager.

"The most cost-effective and efficient option is a direct appointment; however, other options include a special election or leaving the seat vacant," she said in an email.

The city has moved to respond to a host of questions, including what can be done to prevent such influence in Arcadia again.

Officials did not remove Wang from officer earlier because the FBI "did not make the City" aware of an investigation into Wang or pending charges, according to a city Q&A on its website.

It also listed what local governments can do to prevent foreign influence in municipal office.

"Most public agencies require background checks and fingerprinting before hiring employees; however, candidates for elected office, are generally not subject to background checks at the federal, state, or local level," according to the city's Q&A. "Many voters assume candidates are vetted, but in most jurisdictions the process only confirms basic qualifications such as age, residency, and voter registration.

"In Arcadia, City Council candidates must be at least 18 years old, a California resident, a registered Arcadia voter, and a resident of the district they seek to represent."

City officials are prohibited from participating in decisions that could financially benefit them, and campaign contributions and expenditures must be publicly reported, the city noted.

But the city also floated some possible barriers to prevent such influence in the future.

They include:

* Reviewing or drafting any policies governing interactions with foreign governments and officials, including travel, certificates, and ceremonial events;

* Considering restrictions around campaign financing that limit foreign contributions in local elections; and

* Training for local officials to recognize improper influence efforts.

While Lazzaretto said he couldn't fairly characterize resident sentiment at this time, he expects to hear from the community directly on Tuesday.

One of the posts Wang published online refuted reports of the persecution and abuse of the Uyghers ethnic group in China's Xinjiang province, which included the statement that "there has never been genocide in Xinjiang or forced labor in the region's cotton fields or any other sector."

Rushan Abbas, founder of the nonprofit "Campaign for Uyghurs," said her sister Gulshan was disappeared by Chinese authorities in 2018, days after Rushan spoke out against the Chinese Community Party.

She said she was appalled that Wang "acted as a foot soldier in an information war" by decrying in social media posts that there was no genocide against Uyghur Muslims in China by the Chinese Communist Party."

That ‘foot soldier'-for-China charge has echoed nationally and online, as voices ramped up the backlash against a local leader who they said led a "double life" as a spy. But it also amplifed left-right political divides over China, and foreign infiltration in American elections.

The charges prompted calls on conservative media platforms to review all green cards from "adversarial regimes" and end birthright citizenship.

In an interview on SkyNews Australia, L.A. County GOP Chair Roxanne Hoge said Wang was supportive of many other local leaders "who may be looking over their shoulders right now, whose donor lists have been shared with hers."

On X, Katie Miller, wife of Trump advisor Stephen Miller, called Wang a "spy."

Some even called for the disqualification of anyone from a foreign country or with dual citizenship to be disqualified from office.

Arcadia, nicknamed the "Community of Homes" has one of the highest concentrations of Chinese residents in Los Angeles County, with about 21,678 of its 57,000 residents identifying as Chinese in the 2024 census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, pushed back on what in a statement she said was a troubling "racist discourse" that has developed, focusing on Asian Americans.

She pointed to the Trump administration's "anti-immigration agenda," which she said has been pervasive.

"These attacks on the Asian American community are unfortunately not new," Chu said in a statement. "The Asian American community has already weathered stigma, prejudice, and violence, fueled by rhetoric from President Trump and his administration."

Chu referred to violent anti-Asian hate crimes during COVID-19 and the targeting of scholars of Chinese descent in Trump's "China Initiative" program, both of which the legislator said she has fought against in Congress.

"While I'm completely shocked and disappointed by the conduct admitted to by Eileen Wang, I am proud to represent the diverse communities in the San Gabriel Valley," Chu said.

The Arcadia City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at its City Hall chambers, 240 W. Huntington Drive.

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