An Encino-based political consulting firm that works with the state Senate and is on the payroll of the California Democratic Party has hired the daughter of California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León.
Shallman Communications announced Wednesday it had hired Lluvia de Milagros Carrasco as an account coordinator. The Saint Mary’s College graduate is in her early 20s.
Her hiring highlights the intersection of politics and family relationships in Sacramento. It also comes after de León faced criticism for helping Carrasco secure an internship at a social justice non-profit while also introducing a bill that aided the non-profit, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
Firm founder John Shallman praised Carrasco’s skills and said she’d earned the job in her own right during a brief interview.
“I have a relationship with Kevin de León that’s independent of his daughter,” Shallman said. “Obviously our firm is focused on hiring the best and the brightest.”
The political consultant has a close relationship with de León and has run his political campaigns since 2006.
Shallman’s consulting firm also receives $10,000 a month from the California Democratic Party, campaign filings show. The firm’s work for the party includes messaging and other work for the Senate and California Democratic Party, Shallman said.
De León’s office declined to comment.
Carrasco has worked as an event planner at the Women’s Resource Center and a labor organizer, according to Shallman’s office. She will have no responsibilities related to the California Democratic Party or the Senate in her new role at the Shallman Communications, Shallman said.
Instead, she’ll focus on non-profits and issues such as the humane treatment of animals, Shallman said.
Bob Stern, former president of the Center for Governmental Affairs, said he didn’t see an conflict with Carrasco working for Shallman Communications.
“She’s an adult,” Stern said. “It doesn’t really matter what she works on.”
Update: Shallman later clarified his comments about his firm’s contract with the California Democratic Party. That work doesn’t include consulting for the state Assembly, he said.
