leader_name = Larry Melton

Odessa is a city in Texas. As of 2005, the city had a total population of just about 97,000. The city and its surrounding suburbs had a polulation of 125,339 as of 2005. Odessa is the county seat of Ector County^GR6. Odessa and its twin city Midland are officially defined as the Midland-Odessa Combined Statistical Area. The Midland–Odessa metropolitan area had a population 241,316 as of the July 1, 2004 estimate.

Odessa is home to Permian High School (mascot: Panther, nickname: MOJO), whose 1988 football team was featured in the book and movie Friday Night Lights; and Odessa High School (mascot: Broncho) as the only high schools in the Ector County Independent School District. The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, the Texas Tech University Health Science Center at Odessa, and Odessa College are located in Odessa.

The Ector County Coliseum in Odessa features events as diverse as Indoor football as played by the Intense Football League's Odessa Roughnecks, ice hockey with the Central Hockey League's Odessa Jackalopes, and rodeo every year in the form of the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo.

The Globe of the Great Southwest, located on the campus of Odessa's community college Odessa College, features an authentic replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Odessa has 3 local television new stations: KMID - an ABC Affiliate, KWES - an NBC Affiliate, and KOSA - a CBS Affiliate.

Odessa is also the location for one of two malls in West Texas. The Music City Mall is located in Odessa, while the Midland Park Mall is in Midland.