MITZI BICKERS: A TIMELINE

1966: Born in Atlanta to Ethel and the Rev. Benjamin Weldon Bickers, founder of Emmanuel Baptist Church in southeast Atlanta. 1989: Graduated from Spelman College. 1993: Elected to Atlanta Board of Education at age 27. 1998: Became pastor at Emmanuel Baptist. 2003: Resigned from school board to run for Fulton County Commission chairman; finished third in a four-candidate race. March 2004: Formed the Bickers Group, a political consulting firm October 2004: Files for bankruptcy. During bankruptcy, she goes to work as an executive for one of Elvin “E.R.” Mitchell Jr.’s companies, and withdraws her bankruptcy plea after receiving a pair of bonuses.

2009: Worked for Kasim Reed’s campaign for Atlanta mayor, conducting get-outthe-vote activities for a runoff election under a company called Operation Get Out The Vote.

2010: Hired as director of human services for the city of Atlanta. While a city employee, collected $875,827 in political consulting fees; clients included former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, former Gov. Roy Barnes, and Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill. She took a 76-day leave of absence in 2012 to work on various campaigns.

July 2011: Acquires a $775,000 home on Lake Spivey in Henry County with a $251,000 mortgage furnished by the seller, court records show. Meaning she paid nearly $524,000 down. August 2012: The $251,000 mortgage is satisfied, court records show. March 2013: Steps down from job with the city of Atlanta. September 2015: A brick crashes through a window at Mitchell’s Atlanta home. Dead rats also were left on his property. Mitchell tells Atlanta police he is working with federal investigators on a case. An associate of Bickers and Mitchell’s, Shandarrick Barnes, is later charged in the incident.

August 2016: Subpoenas delivered to the city of Atlanta for records related to Bickers and Keylah Jackson. October 2016: Bickers joins Clayton County Sheriff’s office as a chaplain. November 2016: Bickers takes out a mortgage with a bail bondsman for $88,701.41 backed by the Lake Spivey home.

November 2016: Subpoenas delivered to the city for records related to Mitchell and Charles P. Richards Jr, another city contractor.

January 2017: Charges against Mitchell become public. He pleads guilty in federal court. Emails show attorneys for Bickers are pushing back against U.S. prosecutors investigating Bickers’ finances.