In the 16 months since he was sworn in, state Rep. Michael R. DesRoches did not cast a single vote. Colleagues in the House say they have not seen him in Concord this session.

They won't be seeing him in the future, either. DesRoches announced his resignation yesterday, explaining he was recently evicted from his apartment in downtown Manchester and no longer lives in the district he was elected to represent.

DesRoches, a Democrat, said he did not expect to win when he agreed to put his name on the ballot in 2006. Once elected, he said, he was sidetracked by a series of personal and financial problems, including a bad knee, a breakup and a bout with depression.

"I was concentrating on myself," he said yesterday. "Because if I didn't have a clear mind, with everything going on with my depression, how (would) I be able to actually vote correctly?"

DesRoches announced his resignation in an e-mail to House staff early yesterday morning. A spokesman for House Speaker Terie Norelli said the speaker could not confirm the e-mail was authentic and will probably ask DesRoches for a signed letter of resignation.

In accordance with state law, the District 10 seat will remain open until the general election in November, said state Rep. Michael Brunelle, the chairman of Manchester's legislative delegation.

DesRoches is a former manager of the Uptown Tavern, an Elm Street bar that shut down last fall. He is one of several city Democrats who, as of last Wednesday, had not voted on any of the 82 bills that received a roll call vote in the House this year, according to the House Web site.

DesRoches did not cast any votes last year, either, when there were 154 roll call votes, according to the site. Several House Democrats said the only time they saw DesRoches was when he showed up for the swearing-in ceremony in December 2006.

Brunelle said he tried repeatedly to reach DesRoches by phone or e-mail since January 2007, but he never got a response.

A former Massachusetts resident, DesRoches said he was "kind of talked into" running for the seat by his boss at the time, Roy Arsenault. Arsenault is the former owner of the Uptown Tavern and currently owns Raxx, a downtown billiard hall.

DesRoches now says he was "under a misconception" about the work state legislators are expected to do. He said he did not understand he would be given a committee assignment that had the potential to fill up his schedule each week.

"My understanding is, when he ran, he had every intention of actually doing it," said Alderman Peter Sullivan, a former state representative. "He was kind of fired up about it."

Three other state representatives from Manchester -- Sandra Smith, George Katsiantonis and Hector Velez -- had yet to cast any votes this year, according to the House Web site. All are Democrats.

Brunelle, a Democrat, said absenteeism is a non-partisan problem that has flared in the past.

"What you have to realize is sometimes life gets in the way," he said. "People get sick. They get new jobs.

"As citizen legislators, we are paid $100 a year. Sometimes, you have to put things in perspective and make other things a priority."

DesRoches' resignation leaves Manchester with two unfilled seats out of 35 in its delegation. Rep. Lily Mesa resigned in January while undergoing medical treatment in Spain. Her seat also will remain open until November, Brunelle said.

DesRoches' e-mail to the House Clerk's Office went out at 4:41 a.m. The letter says only that he is resigning because of "residency issues" and explains he cannot deliver a letter in person because he is "unable to get to Concord."

In an interview, DesRoches said he is recently unemployed and cannot afford to fix his car, which broke down about three months ago. He was evicted in mid-February, he said.

He said he wanted to stay in District 10, which covers the downtown area, "but there was no way I could find an apartment that was within my range of funds." He is now renting an apartment on Beech Street, he said.

DesRoches won contested races in both the District 10 primary and general election in 2006. He sent a few mailers but did no other campaigning, he said.

Brunelle, who was executive director of the Manchester Democratic Committee at the time, said he did not speak with DesRoches before the election.

Rep. Jane Beaulieu, herself a city Democrat, said both parties sometimes recruit candidates who do not expect to win or intend to serve. She said she "didn't really think much about it" when the party first asked her to run for state representative several years ago.

"I won. And lucky for them, I am committed," she said.