Back when he was a child, Nick Mosby said he would ride the bus by City Hall, see its white marble walls and cast iron dome, and tell people: “I’m going to work there.”

And he did. On Monday, Mosby smacked his gavel and said his customary “Baltimore, we love you,” putting a bow on the legislative session for the 73rd Baltimore City Council. While he still has to preside over the Board of Estimates meeting on Wednesday, the end of Monday’s council meeting was, symbolically, that of this chapter of his political career.

Mosby’s four-year term as council president was plagued by scandal and personal drama while also buoyed by his perseverance.

The FBI raided his office. It came out he had failed to pay taxes. His now ex-wife, the former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, was also investigated, federally indicted, and eventually found guilty of perjury and fraud. Their marriage fell apart, publicly.

On Thursday, once new Council President Zeke Cohen is sworn in, Baltimore will be without a Mosby in elected office for the first time since 2011.

Through it all, Nick Mosby continued to show up to City Hall, a fact not lost on his colleagues.

Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton, who will serve another term, thanked Mosby for standing by Baltimore “not only in successes, but in times when it was challenging for you.”

Standing with his daughters at the council dais, Mosby acknowledged the turmoil of his tenure but said his resilience should come as an example for what to do when your integrity and character are under fire.

“My daughters were able to see their father, at probably his most trying circumstances, get up every single day and do his job with dignity,” he said.

Mosby often backed legislation aimed at uplifting Baltimore’s underserved, predominantly-Black communities. He led the campaign to “ban the box,” which made it unlawful for employers to ask job applicants about their criminal records. He used his seat on the city’s spending board to advocate for minority-owned businesses in the hopes they could get a fair shake at government contracts.

As a delegate in Annapolis, Mosby was crucial to keeping the Preakness Stakes in Northwest Baltimore. He sought increased funding for historically Black colleges and universities and fought against further adoption of mandatory minimum sentences.

To some of his colleagues, he was more than a politician. He was a role model.

“The only reason I am here today is because of you,” said Councilman Antonio Glover, a former sanitation worker and community liaison at the state’s attorney’s office.

“You’re not just my president, you’re my brother,” Glover said. “You make every Black boy in the city of Baltimore proud.”

Councilmen Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, Mark Conway, James Torrence and Cohen also thanked Mosby for his time, each offering an anecdote or story — Conway called Mosby the “best speaker in Baltimore.”

Through it all, Mosby beamed, seemingly happy to get his flowers a final time.

What is next is unclear — Mosby has not publicly said, and his colleagues do not seem to know. The first member of his family to attend college, he is an electrical engineer by trade. Another campaign would subject Mosby to further scrutiny.

But, he will be around.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Baltimore Banner reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this story.