ARCADIA CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2025
CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Kwan called the Special Meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
ROLL CALL OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
PRESENT: Cao, Cheng, Fu, Wang, and Kwan
ABSENT: None
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
City Attorney Maurer provided a brief overview on the proceedings for the Special Meeting, including the process for public comment and mandarin interpretation services. He presented the Staff Report and outlined the legal basis for a censure and the potential action of removal from the Office of Mayor.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Due to the number of speaker cards submitted for the meeting, a motion was made by Council Member Fu, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Wang, and placed on a roll call vote to limit Public Comment to two minutes per speaker.
AYES: Fu, Wang, and Cao
NOES: Cheng and Kwan
ABSENT: None
April Verlato, Arcadia resident and former Mayor, appeared and expressed her frustration over the increase in employee compensation costs associated with the adopted budget last year, and with the perceived impacts to Mayor Kwan for opposing the labor agreements.
The following speakers appeared and expressed their opposition to the proposed censure of Mayor Sharon Kwan:
Stuart Miller
Murli Tolaney
Shahnawaz Ahmag
Benny Yee
Mike Veerman
Juan jaimes
Irene
Marilynne Wilander
Susan Woo
Domenico Tallerico
Kathy Symons
Jon C. Phillips
Kai Wetterau
Sharon Wetterau
Sanjay Kucheria
Ashish Guha
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Nader Samaan
Lee Kuo
Johnny Tseng
Olivia Tan
John Xiu
Angela
Michael Danielson
Lynn McKenzie Tallerico
The following speakers appeared and expressed their support for the -proposed censure of Mayor Sharon Kwan:
Chris Arzate
Megan Wong
Natalie Fu
Lucy Zhang
Steven Dai
Edmund Liu
Becky Ung
Charles Funaro
Ricky Lau
Desiree Molina
Harry Ryah Wong
Stuart Chan
The following speakers appeared and encouraged the City Council to refocus its efforts on conducting City business:
Grace Lee Diego Rubalcava-Alvarez
Steve Rhee Mr. Yu Wu
Marci Schultz Arthur Fong
Stephanie Aikin Christine Teeple
Mark Feng
City Attorney Maurer noted for the record that a total of 25 public comments were received by email, 18 in support of the censure, four in opposition, and three encouraged the City Council to refocus its efforts and move forward constructively.
City Attorney Maurer closed Public Comment.
a. Resolution Nos. 7649 and 7650 to consider a proposed censure of Mayor Sharon Kwan.
CEQA: Not a Project
Recommended Action: No Staff Recommendation
City Attorney Maurer thanked the audience for their public comment and turned the proceedings over to Council Member Fu to make his presentation.
Council Member Fu provided a presentation outlining his basis for the proposed censure.
The City Council recessed at 10:51 p.m. and reconvened at 11:02 p.m.
Mayor Kwan provided a statement in opposition to the proposed censure. 2 08-26-2025
A discussion ensued and members of the City Council presented their positions on the proposed censure.
Mayor Kwan left the meeting at 12:45 a.m. and returned at 12:48 a.m.
After discussion, a motion was made by Council Member Fu, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Wang, to censure Mayor Kwan and relieve her from the duties to conduct public meetings on behalf of the City; relieve Mayor Kwan from undertaking public speaking engagements as the Mayor; and relieving Mayor Kwan of her committee assignments for the balance of her term as Mayor.
Through subsequent questions from City Attorney Maurer and City Manager Lazzaretto, Council Member Fu clarified that the motion does not seek to remove Mayor Kwan from the Mayoral Office orfrom City records asArcadia's Mayor, nor does it seek to limit Mayor Kwan's First Amendment rights.
After further discussion, Council Member Fu stipulated to a friendly amendment to allow Mayor Kwan to serve on outside agency boards and committees as the City's representative, where such boards legally mandate that the City's representative be the Mayor, and that the Mayor Pro Tern be responsible for maintaining order and decorum during City Council meetings for the remainder of Mayor Kwan's term.
After further discussion, Council Member Fu made a motion to amend his original list of accusations, as initially proposed in the Staff Report, to delete certain words and remove certain items, as suggested by the City Council during the deliberations.
The City Council recessed at 1:01 a.m. and reconvened at 1:25 a.m.
After further discussion, Council Member Cao proposed a friendly amendment in addition to Council Member Fu's motion, requesting the formation of a City Council Subcommittee, consisting of Mayor Pro Tern Wang and Council Member Cheng, to work with the City Attorney on drafting Rules of Procedure and Decorum for consideration at the next meeting.
The City Council voted to approve the motion on a 4-1 vote, with Mayor KWAN dissenting, directing staff to bring back the following items for consideration at the next City Council meeting:
• Resolution No. 7649 to include the list of "Findings" for censure and the resulting "Consequences" with the discussed changes and ensuring legal compliance. • Form a City Council Subcommittee, consisting of Mayor Pro Tern Wang and Council Member Cheng, to work with the City Attorney on drafting meeting procedures and rules of decorum for the City Council.
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The Special Meeting ended at 1:36 a.m.
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Mayor of thf-City of Arcadia
08-26-2025