Angered Arcadia residents speak at first city council meeting since ex-mayor pleads guilty to being a Chinese spy

Angered Arcadia residents flocked to the first city council meeting since their former mayor agreed to plead guilty to being a Chinese spy last week.

"You all should have asked her to resign, saving Arcadia the embarrassing international headlines," said one woman, speaking to the other members of the Arcadia City Council during Tuesday night's meeting. It came just a week after Eileen Wang agreed to step down from her position as mayor and plead guilty to federal charges.

Wang now faces up to 10 years in federal prison after agreeing to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China. She also admitted that she worked with her former fiancé, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, to push pro-Chinese propaganda through a website that the two operated. Sun was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year on similar charges.

CBS LA questioned Wang about Sun's sentence earlier this year, to which she refused to comment. Prosecutors have since said that Wang and Sun's covert work took place from 2020 to 2022. 

Arcadia's other council members faced backlash and heightened scrutiny from some speakers. 

"While federal prosecutors handle Ms. Wang, we as constituents must look at the leaders who remain, for now," said another man who spoke during the public comment section of the meeting.

City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto told the crowd that city guidelines prevented other city officials from removing Wang from her position. 

"At no time could the city council have removed Eileen Wang from office," Lazzaretto said. "The city charter only allows the city council to remove another member if the person is convicted of a serious crime."

Not only has there not been a conviction, but other officials say they were completely in the dark about the ongoing investigation. 

"Nor was anyone informed of any investigation involving any other individual, namely Eileen Wang," Lazzaretto said. 

Residents expressed concerns that they ignored clear warning signs, especially after her former partner pleaded guilty in October 2025.

"I think our community deserves much better," said one woman. 

The final meeting on Tuesday night's agenda was to find Wang's replacement. City council members, who act as mayor on a rotational basis, eventually elected Paul Chang as the city's new mayor.