West Covina City Councilman Tony Wu has conceded the District 5 race to challenger Fredrick Sykes, ending an 11-year run on the city council for the 68-year-old incumbent. Wu called Sykes on Saturday to congratulate him, telling the former mayor he offered to help with the transition if needed.
The concession came after Wu trailed Sykes by 885 votes, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office, with roughly 131,000 ballots still left to count countywide at the time. As reported by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Wu said his tenure fulfilled its mission of service to the community. Sykes, for his part, asked Wu to tell his supporters that the two sides would need to work together and find unity moving forward.
A Steady Slide in the Vote Count
The outcome tracks with a trend that had been building for days. At the county's count reported late on Nov. 4, Sykes held 56.2% of the vote to Wu's 43.8%; by the following morning, Sykes had edged up to 56.3% while Wu slipped to 43.7%. Those figures were dated snapshots rather than a certified final tally, but the direction was consistent throughout the count.
Sykes, 75, is no stranger to West Covina city hall. He served on the council from 2011 to 2015 and was appointed the city's first Black mayor on Nov. 18, 2014. He has also served as a planning commissioner, a human relations commissioner and a member of the redevelopment dissolution oversight board, and he has lived in West Covina for 40 years.
Corruption and Transparency Took Center Stage
Sykes campaigned on restoring trust at city hall, saying that on his first day in office corruption and wasteful spending would be eliminated. He also pledged to restore transparency and proper oversight and to address what he described as a toxic work environment for city staff. Wu's campaign, by contrast, centered its message on fiscal responsibility and economic growth.
The corruption theme did not emerge in a vacuum. The same Tribune report noted a September Gallup survey finding that 89% of U.S. adults considered government corruption widespread, the highest level recorded in 20 years — a backdrop that observers said helped frame the West Covina race as a change moment for the city's politics.
An Investigation Left Open to Interpretation
Wu's final year in office was shadowed by a city investigation whose conclusions have been described differently in Tribune coverage. One account characterized a February investigative report as finding that Wu engaged in conduct others reasonably perceived as intimidating or retaliatory. A separate Tribune account of the same investigation described it as finding that Wu made two unprofessional comments on two occasions, but that his conduct could not reasonably be perceived as intimidating or retaliatory.
Separately, fellow councilmember Brian Gutierrez alleged that Wu violated state law in 2025 by participating in city decisions involving contracts with the Chinese American Association of West Covina, an organization where Wu's wife volunteered. Wu denied the allegation. An effort to recall Wu had already failed in 2024.
From Taiwan to West Covina's First Immigrant Mayor
Wu's path to city hall began after he migrated from Taiwan, and he has said he was encouraged by residents to run for council in 2015. He has credited a promise to his father, who died during a visit to the United States in the late 1990s, as part of what drove him into public service — saying he wanted to repay the country for medical assistance his father received through Medi-Cal and Medicare. Wu went on to become West Covina's first immigrant mayor.
During his time in office, Wu said the city balanced its budget by 2019 and negotiated new labor contracts with its police and fire departments that same year. He credited his leadership with bolstering public safety resources, rebuilding staffing, restoring morale within city departments and strengthening public safety services. He also pointed to city events that he said brought residents together and showcased West Covina to the broader region.
A Repeat Matchup With a Different Result
This was not the first time Wu and Sykes shared a ballot. In the 2022 District 5 race, Sykes ran as one of three challengers against Wu but collected just 3.6% of the vote, while Richard Reyes took 38.45% and Hossein Rambod Sotoodeh drew 14.9%, according to The Ballot Book's results page for that election. Wu won that contest with 43% even though his three opponents combined for a cumulative 57%, per the Tribune's reporting.
Four years later, with no vote-splitting among multiple challengers, Sykes converted that broader anti-incumbent sentiment into a majority of his own. Wu will leave the council alongside colleagues Letty Lopez-Viado, who represents District 2, and Dario Castellanos, who represents District 4, as West Covina prepares for a council that includes its newest member.
