Mayor Sharon Kwan and officials responded Wednesday to the Arcadia City Council’s vote to censure her, the first such action in city history.
“I am so grateful for my neighbors and friends who came (Tuesday) night in support of me,” Kwan said in a statement to HeySoCal.com. “The City Council was not at its best. I heard the residents and the overwhelming majority of the speakers last night said they want to see City Council stop this bickering and get back to the business of the City of Arcadia.”
Kwan, who is the city’s first female Asian American mayor, added that she is “ready to put this behind us and move forward serving the community that elected us to keep our streets safe, our water flowing and the lights on. If censuring me is what helps the other Councilmen get over this bitter feud, then so be it. Tomorrow, I will wake up, forgive my colleagues and get to work.”
City Attorney Michael Maurer, Mayor Pro Tem Eileen Wang and Councilmen Paul Cheng, Michael Cao and David Fu did not respond to requests for comment.
The Arcadia City Manager’s Office issued a statement to HeySoCal.com:
“The work of the City Council is essential, and we respect the diverse roles and perspectives of our elected leaders, which can occasionally result in friction among members. However, the current events of the City Council do not diminish Arcadia’s commitment to delivering transparent, responsible, and high-quality services to the entire community.”
In a previous statement, Kwan said the censure action was “a smear campaign” designed to counter her recent allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination by Fu.
“He does not like being challenged by a woman, and now these three Asian men on City Council are sending a dangerous message that Chinese women need to be submissive, obedient, and silent — or else face punishment.”
At the regular council meeting Aug. 19, Fu, Cao and Cheng voted for a censure hearing. City law requires three council members to advance a censure action. Wang did not vote after her three colleagues moved the censure forward, but she was the fourth vote in favor of censure on Tuesday.
Arcadia officials were mum on Kwan’s report to the city’s Human Resources Division accusing Fu of sexual harassment and discrimination.
“As a matter of practice, the City does not comment on personnel-related investigations,” according to the statement. “Any such allegations raised by a Council Member are referred to an independent third-party investigator for review.”
Fu’s council-approved censure resolution accuses Kwan of “making unfounded accusations of sexism and sexual harassment against councilmembers and staff whenever disagreements arise to deflect argument against her ill-conceived and unfounded positions on substantive issues.”
Kwan in recent months has questioned the city’s projected balanced budget and small surplus after former Councilwoman April Verlato raised the issue in June. Verlato spoke during the public comments portion of the censure hearing Tuesday.
“I thought this was about the conduct of our Mayor Kwan, but actually it has nothing to do with her conduct, it has nothing to do with what she’s said or done here on the dais,” Verlato said. “What it has to do with is the contracts. We’re still here about the contracts.”
Verlato then referenced members of city employee unions in attendance and a 20% increase in employee compensation.
“They’re all here because they’re mad. They’re mad that Mayor Kwan voted against their contracts last year,” Verlato said. “They’re mad that I voted against it. They still got their raises, but they hate that she continues to talk about the budget and how we are spending more money than we have on these contracts. It was a 20% increase in employee costs last year. That’s what the contracts did to us.”
In a statement, city officials responded, “When the labor contracts were approved in 2024 for Arcadia’s five employee associations, a $2.3 million budgetary imbalance was projected at that time. Due to a combination of strong revenues from local spending, reduced discretionary expenses, and refined employee benefit estimates, the City ended Fiscal Year 2024-25 with a $34,000 surplus, while a surplus of $88,400 is projected for Fiscal Year 2025-26.”
Arcadia Firefighters’ Association President Jonathan Ansell said union members attended the meeting Tuesday “not out of animosity or anger toward any council member’s voting record, but because it was a historic moment in Arcadia’s governance — the first time a censure motion was brought before the council. As stakeholders invested in the city’s operations and future, our members were there to observe this significant proceeding, reflecting our commitment to engaging with local government processes.
“We hold no ill will toward how any council member votes,” Ansell said. “We value the diversity of thoughts and opinions that contribute to robust decision-making, including Mayor Kwan’s continued discussions on the city’s budget. We fully support a fiscally responsible council, as a stable financial position benefits all city employees, enabling us to provide high-quality services to residents.”
On the 20% increase in employee compensation, Ansell said, “(City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto) was asked directly if the city could sustain these raises, and he affirmed that it could. Moreover, the city ended the fiscal year with a balanced budget, demonstrating that these raises were financially manageable. These adjustments were critical to address market imbalances in compensation.”
Ansell said the city’s fire department “had been losing talented, experienced firefighters to neighboring agencies offering competitive pay, jeopardizing our ability to maintain staffing levels and response times essential for public safety. The raises were about retention and fairness, not excess. Since the raises were implemented, our department has not lost any members to other agencies.”
The police union and Public Works union President Marcos Garcia did not respond to requests for comment. Contact information was not immediately available for the Arcadia Civilian Employee Association and the Arcadia Police Civilian Employees Association. The three civilian employee unions do not have social media accounts, websites or known physical addresses outside the city’s Huntington Drive administrative complex.
The censure resolution chastises Kwan for accusing police and firefighters “of impropriety and corruption because labor organizations chose not to support her or her cronies. These unfair and baseless allegations contribute to loss of public trust in our law enforcement and public safety agencies, and cause meaningless conflict based on false statements made for political gain.”
A public hearing on censure penalties for Kwan is set for Sept. 2 at the council’s regular meeting.
Updated Aug. 28, 2025, 1:25 p.m.
