Saturday, September 26, 2026

Republican Governor Nominee Steve Hilton Among Speakers Slated for Conservative Forum in Pasadena Today

Steve Hilton [Via Facebook]

The all-day event at Ambassador Auditorium runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, with a free outdoor festival, separately ticketed luncheon and reception, and security screening at the door

Republican governor nominee Steve Hilton is among the speakers scheduled for AM870 The Answer’s Townhall 2026 Conservative Forum on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena.

The forum, presented by the radio station and the Reagan Gold Group, is meant to energize conservative activists and help turn out voters for the Nov. 3 general election, according to a media advisory sent on the station’s behalf. Hilton faces Democrat Xavier Becerra for governor on that ballot.

Comedian and radio personality Adam Carolla and independent journalist Nick Shirley are also featured, along with AM870 talk hosts Larry Elder, Alex Marlow, Larry O’Connor and Mike Gallagher, the station says. Jennifer Horn, host of the station’s “The Morning Answer,” will host the event.

Other listed guests include Gloria Romero, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, and Sonja Shaw, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, a nonpartisan office. Assemblymember David Tangipa is also listed. So is former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who faces Sheriff Robert Luna in November, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The lineup also includes Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami; Jim Pfaff, president of The Conservative Caucus; Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of RedState and Townhall Media; and independent journalist Nick Sortor. Television news anchor Glen Walker, KKLA host Scott Furrow and Ashley Reagan, granddaughter of President Ronald Reagan, are also on the bill.

Steve Hilton for Governor is listed among the forum’s sponsors.

“Today in California, we have bad ideas, poorly executed. That has to change,” Hilton says in a statement the station published with the lineup. The station describes Shirley, 24, as an independent journalist and investigative reporter who has pivoted to California to look into potential taxpayer-funded fraud.

A free outdoor festival the station calls ANSWERFEST opens the day at 10 a.m. in the auditorium’s parking lot, with food trucks, vendors, games and a classic rock cover band, 4 The People, until noon. Doors open at 11 a.m. for a VIP luncheon featuring Shirley and Carolla, at 11:45 a.m. for the main forum and at 4:30 p.m. for a meet-and-greet reception. Forum tickets do not include the luncheon, the reception or parking, which are sold separately, and tickets carry a no-refund policy. The station says guest availability, topics and panel placements are subject to change.

The station says a pre-paid lot at the Elks Lodge on Green Street is no longer available, and it urges attendees to buy parking in advance at Maranatha High School’s lots, which close at 7 p.m. It cautions that street parking is very limited and that cars left in the Ralphs supermarket lot or other private lots will be towed. All attendees must pass through security, and only purses or bags 12 by 12 inches or smaller are allowed after inspection. Weapons are barred, and signs, banners and other demonstration materials will not be permitted inside the auditorium.

The station calls the auditorium a new venue for its annual forum; the 2025 edition was held Oct. 19, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove. AM870 staged its Townhall 2016 forum at the Pasadena Convention Center.

NEED TO KNOW

Event: Townhall 2026 Conservative Forum. When: Saturday, Sept. 26. Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; forum doors open at 11:45 a.m. Cost: Tickets required for the forum; the VIP luncheon, meet-and-greet reception and parking are sold separately; ANSWERFEST is free. Where: Ambassador Auditorium, 131 S. St. John Ave., Pasadena. Parking: Pre-paid lots at Maranatha High School; paid parking at the De Lacey Parking Structure, 45 S. De Lacey Ave. For more, visit https://am870theanswer.com/station-events/live-events/townhall-2026.