West Covina spent $152,000 on Moon Festival tied to mayor’s wife

West Covina spent $152,000 in the past two years to put on the annual Moon Festival in partnership with a nonprofit whose volunteer chief financial officer is Mayor Tony Wu’s wife, according to public records and interviews.

The nonprofit Chinese American Association of West Covina covers part of the festival’s expenses, but keeps all of the fees collected from vendors and sponsorships. The city makes little to no money from the event, according to a recent presentation.

The city, meanwhile, is responsible for the stage, hiring entertainment, purchasing liability insurance and payroll costs — at overtime rates — for police, fire and other City Hall staff involved with the festival’s planning and execution, records showed.

Cost quadrupled in a year

On the city’s side, Wu reportedly participates in nearly all decision-making about the event. One city employee familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the festival’s price tag ballooned from roughly $32,000 in 2023 to $121,000 in 2024 in part because of Wu’s micromanaging and staff’s fears that telling him no could lead to their firing.

The event increased from one day to two days last year, yet the costs quadrupled.

Wu, elected in 2015, has been repeatedly accused of creating a hostile environment at City Hall over the years and multiple employees told the Southern California News Group the planning for the Moon Festival is one area where he is not willing to compromise.

“Tony was involved in the planning from the promotion, to the script, to the layout, to every aspect of how the event is supposed to be run,” the employee said. “All city employees are aware that this is Tony’s event, you have to make it look good.”

Wu has denied having significant involvement in the event’s planning and maintains that he treats all employees with respect. He believes the city’s calculations of the costs are flawed and need to be reviewed again.

“It doesn’t make any sense that the city pays that number,” he said.

City could fully take over event

In response to scrutiny over the spending, the CAAWC has told City Hall it will give full control of the event — and the revenues collected so far — to the city, but the city employees say Wu has already made it clear he will not accept a scaled-back event.

“Staff is aware that Tony Wu is adamant that the event be identical to last year, if not bigger, in the same location,” one employee said. “Tony Wu has already told others that unless the city manager executes as directed, that he will be removed and replaced.”

Wu denied this as well, saying he had suggested months ago to move the event to City Hall to cut costs, but that staff had rejected the idea because it wouldn’t support efforts to revitalize the city’s historic downtown.

This year’s “Super Moon Festival” is scheduled for Oct. 4-5 on Glendora Avenue. It is one of the city’s largest — and most successful — events, typically attracting 10,000 to 20,000 people to the city’s core. As of Friday afternoon, the city had asked the CAAWC for, but had not received, lists of the vendors and sponsors, the proposed layout of the event, scheduled community acts, or the status of its health and fire permits.

West Covina is now under the gun to scrap together a festival in roughly a month.

Xueting Chen of the We Dance Studio performs during the second annual Moon Festival in West Covina on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

A presentation by the CAAWC is listed on the City Council agenda for Tuesday, Sept. 2, but no other details were provided. Wu, in an interview, indicated that the organization will present figures showing how much it spends on the Moon Festival each year and how the nonprofit supports its community. The CAAWC donated $5,000 to the West Covina Community Services Foundation in 2024.

The city’s initial spending on the Moon Festival was authorized by now-former City Manager Paulina Morales, who was fired in May. The expenditure never went to the City Council because it fell below the threshold requiring council approval. Morales entered into two memorandums of understanding with the CAAWC in 2023 and 2024 that spell out each side’s responsibilities. Neither document sets a spending limit, or a budget, for the event.

Morales could not be reached for comment.

Milan Mrakich, the city’s former director of public safety, moved into the acting city manager role after Morales was fired. In an email, he stated that Wu “has not directed me to expend any city funds towards the Moon Festival” in the months since he took on the new position.

“The Moon Festival is already an approved event in our city budget,” Mrakich wrote. “This year the difference will be that the city is now tasked with many of the logistical and financial responsibilities that have previously been handled by the organization.”

Mrakich met with staff last week and believes “we can handle the increased responsibilities for this event” if the CAAWC turns over the requested information in time. If not, the city “may need to make some changes to the event due to staffing and fiscal impact,” he said.

Two city employees independently told the Southern California News Group that they see the CAAWC and Wu as “one in the same.” The nonprofit formed in 2017 and lists its address at a mailbox rental facility.

Among staff’s concerns is the fact that City Hall can’t properly evaluate or budget for the Moon Festival because of the split responsibilities with the CAAWC and Wu’s constant interference.

“Is this event worth $100,000 or $200,000, or is it worth $50,000? That hasn’t been determined,” one said. “I think most city employees agree that the event is great, but it would be better if the city did everything on their own, without having outside influence.”

Decisions should be made by staff using their expertise “rather than directed by one council person,” they added.

Members of the West Covina Police Bicycle Patrol Unit pose for a photograph during the second annual Moon Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)

Mayor denies role in nonprofit

In an interview, Wu acknowledged his wife’s unpaid role in the CAAWC, but denied having any involvement in the organization outside of donating to it and offering to reach out to church groups and schools to participate in the festival. His wife, Helen, donates about $2,000 to the CAAWC every year or two, and Wu has offered to match the nonprofit’s charitable giving in the past, he said.

“I’m supporting my wife, she is a member,” he said.

Wu added that he gives away his City Council stipend every year and believes strongly in giving back to the city.

“Do I get paid? No. Do I get any benefit? No,” he said. “It is all for the community.”

Wu, at times, used “we” or “our” when talking about the CAAWC, and at other times, used “they” or “their.”

“It is our members’ donations and some business donations,” he said regarding the CAAWC’s revenues. Asked about the language later, Wu corrected himself, saying he spoke in reference to the greater Chinese American community.

Wu denied directing city staff individually, saying he only goes through the city manager. Wu said he was heartbroken to hear that several employees were afraid of retaliation.

“Sometimes, maybe, I come on too strong because I am too passionate about something,” he said. “I don’t want a power trip. I don’t want to scare people.”

Mayor accused in the past

Wu has faced repeated allegations of hostility toward employees.

Former Fire Chief Larry Whithorn, who received $4.1 million from a wrongful termination suit, alleged Wu tried to pressure former City Manager Chris Freeland to fire him for years. After Freeland left in March 2019, the next city manager, David Carmany, fired both Whithorn and Police Chief Marc Taylor within a month of his own hiring.

“It was all directed by Tony,” another employee said. “To this day, he will always let you know that he has the majority” on the council.

Wu blamed both men’s low approval ratings among rank-and-file staff as the reason for their firings.

Carmany later accused Wu of threatening to punch him and of creating a hostile work environment. Wu allegedly yelled “don’t you ever (expletive) disrespect me” at Fire Chief Vincent Capelle during a city event at the time.

Wu admitted to being upset with Capelle but denied shouting such a statement. Carmany alleged Wu wanted Capelle fired and brushed off concerns about the growing tension at City Hall. Wu denied this as well. Carmany resigned and Capelle was fired a year later.

The police report did not lead to any charges, and Wu said he is on friendly terms with Carmany today. He denied having the power or the sway among his council colleagues to orchestrate any firing.

Morales, who succeeded Carmany, was fired earlier this year, making Mrakich the city’s sixth city manager in the last decade. The average city manager in California stays in their position for 4 1/2 years, by comparison.

Some residents attempted to have Wu recalled last year, but failed to secure enough signatures to make it on the ballot.

One of the City Hall employees said they believed Wu — the owner of real estate and mortgage banking companies — wants to make the city a better place, but that he treats the city as another of his private businesses and sees city employees as expendable means to accomplishing his goals for West Covina.

“I think most people think that his heart is in the right place for the community, and he does want the community to succeed and do well,” the employee said. “It is just his approach that sometimes is very scary to employees. Each action has a consequence, and if your action is to cross Tony, there will be a consequence — and it is not going to be favorable to the employee.”

Why the Moon Festival is under fire

Concerns about the Moon Festival have been brewing for months. In response to the City Council’s request, Assistant City Manager Roxeanne Lerma provided a breakdown of the city’s spending on events at the Aug. 19 meeting. The city had asked CAAWC to provide its accounting in June, but hadn’t received a response. This left staff unable to explain how much money its partner makes from or spends on the event, or even how many volunteers it has each year.

Wu, at the meeting, seemed to answer questions on the CAAWC’s behalf, saying he had been told the CAAWC pays about $50,000 in expenses. The organization’s most recently available tax form indicates it received $68,814 in revenue in 2023 and spent a total of $52,414, including about $40,792 on an event. It is unclear if that expense is for the 2023 Moon Festival, but it would have been the organization’s largest event that year.

Wu said all of the CAAWC’s money comes from member’s donations and he did not believe it makes much from the festival.

A call to the phone number listed for the organization on its tax forms was not returned.

Amid questioning by Councilmember Brian Gutierrez, Wu announced that he had “requested the CAAWC hand over everything to the city.”

“Will that settle your suspicions?” he asked.

When Gutierrez suggested the Council take a vote in support, Wu shot back that it was unnecessary.

“This is already handled,” he said.

Councilman Ollie Cantos instead attempted to make a motion to instruct staff not to spend any more resources on the event, but it failed 2-2, with Wu casting the decisive vote.

Two days later, the CAAWC’s president, Sophia Li, notified West Covina it is willing to turn over control of its portion of the event and all of the funds it had raised for the 2025 Super Moon Festival.

FPPC complaint

If Wu’s wife was paid or if either received any money from from the CAAWC, the mayor’s vote and involvement in the planning of the Moon Festival likely would constitute a conflict of interest. State law, which uses a multipronged test to determine when such conflicts exist, is rarely so cut and dried, however, and public officials across the state regularly have to turn to the Fair Political Practices Commission to analyze their situations on a case-by-case basis.

“When there is any doubt in how the law should be applied, a public agency should request an opinion from the FPPC to get clarity on how they should move forward,” said Sean McMorris, the transparency, ethics and accountability program manager at California Common Cause. “That’s the basic way to go about issues like this that can sometimes be in a gray area. If they haven’t asked for an opinion, why not?”

In his email, Mrakich stated that he is not aware of any request for a formal opinion from the FPPC. Wu confirmed he has never asked for one, but he said the FPPC has rejected complaints about similar allegations in the past.

The FPPC did receive a complaint earlier this year that alleged Wu had, among a bevy of other accusations, directed city departments to support the Moon Festival without “city council approval, cost-recovery, or proper public benefit justification.” The complaint was rejected just days after Wu formally denied the allegations and provided a letter from the CAAWC stating that its “fundraising efforts are through CAAWC and have nothing to do with Mrs. Wu’s husband, council member Tony Wu.”

Ultimately, McMorris said, voters will make the final call.

“There’s a lot of things that are legal, but potentially not ethical, and the public has a right to form their own opinions about what is ethical and how our elected officials should be held accountable at the ballot box,” he said.

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