Rodda, Albert S.

State legislator and college instructor, of Sacramento, Calif.; b. 1912.

Biography

Albert S. Rodda, Democrat, was a State Senator, 1959-1980. His district included cities within Sacramento County. Rodda was elected to the 19th Senate District, which after redistricting became the 5th Senate District, followed by the 3rd Senate District

A native of California, Senator Rodda was born in Sacramento on July 12, 1912. He attended local public schools and graduated from Sacramento High School in 1929. He attended Stanford University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1933. Senator Rodda worked as a teacher in Sacramento public high schools for several years before he went into the U.S. Naval Reserve and served in World War II as a gunnery officer. He left the Navy in 1946, and taught at Sacramento City College until he retired in1967 to become a full-time legislator. In 1951, Senator Rodda earned his Ph.D. in history and economics from Stanford University. While teaching at Grant Union High school he met his future wife. Rodda and Clarice Horgan, an English teacher, were married in 1941. They have one son and two daughters.

Senator Rodda was elected in 1958 to the State Senate in a special election to replace Earl Desmond who had died in office. Rodda defeated Louis Desmond, the deceased Senator's son, and two other Democrats.

Senator Rodda served as Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee and was a member of the Democratic County Central Committee. During his term in the Legislature, Senator Rodda served on a number of committees. According to the Legislative Handbooks, he served on the following committees:

California State Senate, 1967-1980