Mayor Odendaal started his political career in 2004 when he joined the Democratic Alliance (DA), he was a founding member of the DA Youth in Nelson Mandela Bay. Given his legal background Mayor Odendaal has held positions within the legal structures of the Democratic Alliance on both a provincial and national level.
After serving a period as a ward committee member, he was elected as a ward councillor in 2009 and served as a councillor until 2019.
In 2016, the DA became the largest party in Nelson Mandela Bay, and he was appointed as the Mayoral Committee Member (MMC) for Budget and Treasury for the period 2016 - 2018.
In 2019 Mayor Odendaal shifted his political career to a provincial level after being elected as a DA Member of the Provincial Legislature, serving as MEC for the portfolios of Finance, Rural Development and Agrarian Reform.
Mayor Odendaal returned to the Nelson Mandela Bay Council in 2022 after resigning from the Legislature to stand as the Mayoral candidate for the newly formed coalition. He was successful in this endeavor and was elected Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay on 21 September 2022.
Mayor Odendaal is married to his lovely wife, Anna-Marie and they have three children. He is a true South African at heart as he enjoys few things more than getting together for a braai, known amongst his friends as a "Braai Master”.