William J. "Jim" Wetherington is a former mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Columbus, Georgia

Columbus, Georgia

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...

. He was elected 67th mayor of that city in 2006, after defeating incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 mayor Bob Poydasheff

Robert Poydasheff

Robert S. "Bob" Poydasheff is a former mayor of Columbus, Georgia.Poydasheff served as mayor of Columbus from 2003 through 2006, having previously served on Columbus city council from 1994 through 2002. He served with distinction in the United States Army for 24 years, retiring at the rank of...

. Wetherington's term ended in 2010 and he did not seek re-election. He was replaced by current mayor Teresa Tomlinson

Teresa Tomlinson

Teresa Tomlinson is the current mayor of the United States city of Columbus, Georgia. Tomlinson replaced Jim Wetherington as Columbus mayor and is the first female to hold the office....

. Wetherington previously served the city of Columbus as chief of police

Chief of police

A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

, and the state of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections, where he led the sixth largest prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 system in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.