WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — After nearly 35 years on the job, Warner Robins City Attorney Jim Elliott is retiring.
His career in what he called the "contact sport" of local politics spanned decades and administrations.
"I often tell the story I've worked for 8 different mayors," said Jim Elliott. "I can't count exactly how many council members."
That's in large part because they're almost countless.
Elliott began serving them as Warner Robins City Attorney all the way back in 1985, when then-mayor Ralph Johnson took a chance on a 27-year-old kid fresh out of school.
"I was like two years out of law school at the time," said Elliott.
The decades that followed brought their share of challenges.
"Oh, absolutely, yes," laughed Elliott.
The 1993 indictment of former Mayor Ed Martin and two top ranking police officials might top the list.
WMAZ's reporting from the time called them "very serious accusations...that, if true, could send the city's two top lawmen and the mayor himself to prison."
Later on, turmoil briefly affected Elliott's own job status. A political dust-up in 2011 led a majority of council to vote him out.
"We've got to move our city forward, but it's just not going to happen with these councilmen in office," said visibly-frustrated Mayor Chuck Shaheen at the time.
Elliott's termination lasted about 36 hours.
"One of the ladies who attended the council meeting where I was reinstated said, 'You know, this is kind of like getting to attend your own funeral because you get to hear all the nice things people say about you that they normally wouldn't say,'" recalled Elliott.
Through it all, he's argued and won cases before the state's top courts.
"Nerve-wracking as heck" is how Elliott described the "sleepless night before you're doing an oral argument in front of the supreme court."
Along the way, he earned a reputation as one of the state's most experienced municipal attorneys.
Elliott says that's great, but what he'll remember and miss the most aren't the accolades, it's the people.
"A lot of times, you spend more time with your work family than your real family," he said.
Why make the decision to retire now?
He says a combination of personal factors sealed the deal. His youngest son just graduated college. His wife will soon earn her doctorate. Elliott felt he was ready for a change, too.
As for what will come next, he says he'll continue to teach at Mercer Law school and likely do part-time municipal law work for cities around the state, including Warner Robins if city leaders ask him to.
No official exit date has been set, but Elliott says he's aiming for the end of June. No replacement has been announced.