County flies Pride flag above Downey weeks after city ban
The Progress Pride flag was raised at the L.A. County Office of Education on Monday. (L.A. County photo)
DOWNEY — The LGBTQ Pride Flag was flying high above Downey on Monday, despite the City Council’s recent vote barring it from being raised on city buildings.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn was joined by Mayor Mario Trujillo, elected officials from the region, members of the LGBTQ community and their allies at the LA County Office of Education to celebrate the start of Pride Month with a ceremonial flag raising.
This comes just weeks after the city council voted 3-2 to adopt a “neutral flag policy,” which prohibits any flag other than the federal, state, city, and Prisoner of War / Missing in Action (POW/MIA) on city buildings and flag poles.
Mayor Pro Tem Hector Sosa and councilmembers Claudia M. Frometa and Dorothy Pemberton voted in favor of the policy, with Trujillo and Councilman Horacio Ortiz – both openly gay – opposed.
“For the past three years, the Pride flag has flown over your wonderful city, ” said Hahn. “But a few weeks ago, the Downey City Council narrowly voted to end that practice and ban flying the Pride Flag on their city property.
“I am here today because I wanted to make sure that Mayor Trujillo, your colleague Horacio Ortiz, know that we appreciate you being on the right side of history, and we want to thank you for your courage. Even though it’s painful to lose that battle to bigotry and fear mongering, I wanted to make sure that the message that we have today is there is Pride in Downey, and it is bigger, it is better, and it is more loving than it has ever been.”
An emotional Trujillo fought back tears, thanking those in attendance and those who have reached out in support since Downey’s flag vote.
“I want every kid in Downey to know you’re safe. I always tell people our job as elected officials - the number one thing that people want from us - is safety; to feel secure,” said Trujillo. “That flag meant something to kids across the street at Downey High School, and all the city. It meant, in Downey you’re safe.”
He said that he would “keep fighting for that flag to return.”
“I may have lost this battle, but I haven’t lost the war. That flag will be back in front of city hall.”
Trujillo also took aim at his fellow city council colleagues, telling them that they “were failing.”
“My council colleagues believe that the Pride flag has no place in government buildings. They hide behind neutrality,” said Trujillo. “I tell them you are wrong. You are failing to represent the people, everyone, who you promised you were going to protect. You are failing the residents of Downey who are part of my community; hundreds, if not thousands of families and residents, and that’s just shameful.
“You are out of touch with your community. Downey is a loving, accepting city. I hate the fact that we are embroiled in news across America because three of my colleagues, instead of choosing to be allies and stand for the people that they chose to represent, chose to stand with the hate group, and that is wrong.”
LA County Assessor Jeffery Prang, who is the county’s highest-ranked LGBTQ official and serves as the LA County LGBTQ Elected Officials Association, thanked Hahn for putting the event together, calling Monday’s celebration “such an appropriate response to what happened at the Downey City Council.”
“Shockingly, on a city council where two of the five members are out LGBT officials, their colleagues voted for this egregious policy,” said Prang. “How do you sit next to somebody and do that?”
He described Trujillo as “the front line.”
“[Trujillo] spoke passionately to his colleagues fighting against this policy; it must have been grueling to lose,” said Prang. “I’ve known Mario Trujillo for a very long time, there’s no greater champion on behalf of the LGBTQ.”
Each of LA County’s eight Downey facilities will fly the Pride flag for the entire month. They are:
- LA County Office of Education
- Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center
- LA County Probation Department
- LA County Internal Services Department
- LA County Downey Animal Care Center
- Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
- Los Amigos Golf Course, and
- LA County Library Headquarters