Becerra Campaign Hire Has Ties to Monterey County Child Welfare Commission

California gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra has paid his daughter, Clarisa Reyes-Becerra, more than $17,000 to work on his campaign, according to campaign finance records — and the hire carries a local connection for Monterey County, where she serves as vice chair of the First 5 Monterey County commission.

First 5 Monterey County is one of 58 state-funded local commissions that direct tobacco tax revenue toward early childhood programs. Reyes-Becerra holds the vice chair role there while also drawing a paycheck from her father’s statewide campaign.

Reyes-Becerra, an immigration attorney who graduated from Stanford and Columbia, previously worked at several immigration-related organizations, including as a managing attorney at the immigration nonprofit California Immigration Project, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland told the Sacramento Bee, which first reported the hire, that Reyes-Becerra began as a volunteer on her father’s campaign before becoming a paid deputy policy director after the primary. In that role, the Bee reported, she helps develop campaign communications and briefs Becerra and other staff on issues ranging from healthcare to wildfire relief.

“With Steve Hilton co-signing Trump’s ICE reign of terror, the value of an experienced attorney with a focus on immigration on our policy team cannot be overstated,” Underland said. “We’re lucky to have her.”

Records show Reyes-Becerra has also been reimbursed for roughly $4,300 in travel expenses. It is not illegal for a campaign to hire a candidate’s family member, but questions remain about her pay rate and hours, which a campaign spokesperson did not detail when asked by the New York Post.

Joshua Wurtzel, a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP who was asked to weigh in on the arrangement, said the key issues are whether the work matches the pay and whether the compensation reflects market rate.

“The issue here is, is she actually doing the work that she is being paid for? Is the amount that she is being paid market rate for that type of person doing that type of work, or is it above market, right?” Wurtzel said.

Wurtzel added that even legitimate arrangements can create political risk for a candidate.

“It certainly gives your adversary something to point to and try to say, there, this is nepotism. You’re using campaign funds to pay your family. It’s some degree of vulnerability for the candidate,” he said.

Becerra, a former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under President Joe Biden and former California attorney general, holds a significant lead over Republican rival Steve Hilton, buoyed by the state’s heavily Democratic voter registration. He has faced criticism for limiting press availability and public events since the primary.

Becerra’s other two children are not employed by the campaign.