Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn held a Pride flag raising ceremony in Downey on Monday, weeks after the local city council voted to ban the flags on city property. 

“There will be pride in Downey this June,” Supervisor Hahn said when she announced the ceremony in late May. “Despite the recent vote by the Downey City Council, I want out LGBTQ+ Downey residents to know they belong and that they are not only accepted but celebrated.” 

The flag was raised on Monday morning at the L.A. County Office of Education in Downey. The education office is one of eight L.A. County properties in the city that will fly the flag for Pride month. 

Last year, Hahn and Supervisor Lindsay Horvath authored a motion to fly the Pride flag at all county facilities during the month of June, which was passed by the Board of Supervisors. 

Downey Mayor Mario Trujillo – who voted against the flag ban and serves on the Board of Directors for the L.A. County LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Association – praised Supervisor Hahn’s efforts to uphold equality for all residents. 

“We may have lost this battle, but we will win the war for fairness, equality and acceptance for all,” Mayor Trujillo said. “This vote was a setback, but I appreciate Supervisor Hahn for her support of the LGBTQ+ community and for making sure the Pride flag will rise in Downey in 2024.” 

Monday’s Pride flag celebration was not Supervisor Hahn’s first; in 2023, she led a ceremony to raise the Progress Pride Flag at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, marking the first time the Pride flag was flown over a Los Angeles County building.