Emelyn C. Rodriguez founded Rodriguez Political Law in 2018. She practices political law, specializing in governmental ethics, lobby, campaign finance, and administrative law. She also has expertise in conflicts of interest rules under the Political Reform Act and Government Code Section 1090, the California Public Records Act and open meetings laws, and campaign advertising disclosure laws.

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She currently serves as the Chair of the Sacramento Ethics Commission. She was a former Senior Commission Counsel with the Fair Political Practices Commission, where she served for nearly 13 years. She authored the state’s electronic campaign advertising regulations, among the first of its kind in the country and much of which has been incorporated into California's new Disclose Act law (AB 249) governing campaign advertising disclosure rules. She headed the FPPC's first major revamping of lobby rules in 25 years, wrote regulations involving state and local political legal defense funds, and served on the FPPC Chairman's Task Force, which issued a detailed report recommending improvements to modernize California's Political Reform Act. She interpreted, analyzed and drafted regulations and legislation, and she provided public officials – including the highest ranking elected and state officials – written and verbal advice regarding conflicts of interests and ethics compliance. 

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She regularly presents at educational conferences, seminars, and panels. She has represented clients in federal civil rights litigation and worked on consumer protection, First Amendment, and environmental cases for various nonprofits. One of her key goals in private practice is to assist in diversifying government leadership on the local, state, and national levels by getting more women and minorities elected or appointed to public office, and once there help them comply with complex rules governing public service. 

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She earned her bachelor's degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and her law degree from the University of California, Davis. She is a member of the California Political Attorneys Association, the Council on Governmental Ethics Law (COGEL), California Women Lead, Women Lawyers of Sacramento, and the California State Bar.  

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Prior to her legal career, she was Capitol Bureau Chief at the Oakland Tribune (part of the Alameda Newspaper Group), where she provided and coordinated state news coverage of the Governor’s office, the state Legislature, and statewide public policy issues for six San Francisco Bay Area daily newspapers.  She reported for the Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and was senior editor at the California Journal, the state’s political magazine.  Her work at the Seattle Times prompted changes in state laws governing background checks and licensing of caretakers of vulnerable nursing home patients, including the elderly and disabled. She was a national finalist for the prestigious Livingston Award, honoring the best young journalists in the country.  She has worked extensively in public service, volunteering for non-profit organizations such as United Way and Legal Services.