The Downey Patriot earned five awards at a state journalism contest Saturday, including four prizes for editor Eric Pierce. 

The California Newspaper Publishers Association received 2,668 total entries in 39 categories in its Better Newspaper Contest, which honored excellence in journalism during the 2016 year.

Winners were announced during a luncheon Saturday at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. 

In the Best Front Page (Broadsheet) category, The Downey Patriot staff won honorable mention for its single entry of three front pages, which included: 

■the Oct. 20, 2016 issue that listed all campaign contributions for City Council candidates; 

■the Oct. 13, 2016 issue that included coverage of a Downey Patriot-sponsored City Council debate at the Downey Theatre; 

■and the June 30, 2016 issue, which reported on the City Council’s decision to put a proposed half-cent sales tax increase on that November’s ballot. 

Downey Patriot editor Eric Pierce won four awards, including second place for his photo essay of the Downey Christmas Parade. 

“Bringing a routine photo assignment like a Christmas parade to life is sometimes a challenge,” judges wrote in their comments. “These photos captured the event well and made me feel like I was there.”

Pierce also won three honorable mentions: two separate awards for his photo coverage of the Ricky Galvez memorial dedication, and for his essay titled “How I Went from Journalist to Realtor.”

The contest was open to daily and weekly newspapers across California, along with college publications.