State Sen. Lou D'Allesandro has announced his retirement after more than 50 years of elected political service.
D'Allesandro, 85, made the announcement Tuesday in an emotional speech in Concord.
"In the long run, we made a difference," he said. "And the hardest thing is to walk away. but for everything there's a beginning and there's an end, and that's life. You know, that's life."
The political beginning for D'Allesandro, a 1961 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, stretch back to 1972 when he served the first of two terms in the state House of Representatives.
He also sat on the New Hampshire Executive Council for six years and ran unsuccessfully for governor twice.
The Democrat from Manchester has served in the New Hampshire Senate since winning election in 1998. He has often been an advocate for policies benefitting working class residents, and his endorsement has been sought by Democratic presidential candidates for decades.
