Six-term state Sen. Bob Odell says he will not seek re-election this fall.
Odell, a Republican from New London, represents the Upper Valley. Before being elected to the Senate in 2002, he served in the House of Representatives for one term.
Odell made news Thursday when he changed his position and voted to repeal the death penalty. He said he would have trouble explaining a vote against repeal to his young grandchildren. The repeal measure failed.
During the past legislative session, Odell chaired the Ways and Means Committee, was vice chairman of Energy and Natural Resources and served on the Finance Committee.
Odell was born in Nashua and raised in Milford. He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. He has eight grandchildren.
