Sunday, May 3, 2026

Pasadena-Area Democratic Coalition Raises Funds for New Campaign Headquarters

A spring fundraiser at a South Pasadena estate aims to open the office before the 2026 midterms

The United Democratic Headquarters, a coalition of eight Democratic clubs that has organized in the Pasadena area for nearly four decades, is holding a fundraiser Saturday to bankroll a new campaign office it expects to open in late June or early July.

The event, called the Spring Soiree, begins at 2 p.m. at a private estate in South Pasadena. The address is provided upon RSVP. Tickets are available through ActBlue by clicking here.

The organization is also billing the event as “Taking Back America,” according to its website.

The coalition, known as UDH, has opened campaign offices in the Pasadena area during election years since the late 1980s. In 2024, it operated out of an office at 400 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, where volunteers phone-banked, wrote postcards, and canvassed for Democratic candidates. The new headquarters would serve a similar function ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to the organization’s website, which states that funds raised will support efforts to win control of the U.S. House and Senate.

UDH describes itself as a coalition of grassroots activists in Democratic clubs and organizations dedicated to change at the local, state, and national levels, according to its website. The group has been active since 1988. The Pasadena Arroyo Democratic Club, one of UDH’s member organizations and the club that states it has taken the lead role in opening, organizing, funding, and staffing the headquarters since 1990, says on its website that the tradition of opening a united Democratic headquarters in the Pasadena area dates back nearly 80 years.

Member clubs listed on the organization’s website include the Arroyo Democratic Club, Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club, Democratic Club of Claremont, Democrats of Pasadena Foothills, Foothill Community Democrats, and the Northeast Democratic Club of Los Angeles.

Hoyt Hilsman, an author, journalist, former Pasadena City College trustee, and former congressional candidate, serves as UDH’s chair, according to his public biographical information and the organization’s federal filings. The coalition is registered with the Federal Election Commission as the Pasadena Area United Democratic Headquarters, committee ID C00380568.

The organization’s website is www.pasadenademocrats.com. Its phone number is (626) 808-8493. Its social media accounts include Facebook at facebook.com/UnitedDemocraticHQ and Instagram at @pasadena.udh.

For nearly 40 years, the coalition has bet on a simple idea: that a room full of volunteers with a phone list can change an election. Saturday’s soiree is the price of admission.