Sanford Bishop

Sanford Bishop
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Charles Hatcher
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 15th district
In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	???
Succeeded by	Ed Harbison
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 94th district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	???
Succeeded by	Bill Lee
Personal details
Born	Sanford Dixon Bishop, Jr. (1947-02-04) February 4, 1947 Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Vivian Creighton
Residence	Albany, Georgia
Alma mater	Morehouse College Emory University
Occupation	Attorney
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1968–1971

Sanford Dixon Bishop, Jr. (born February 4, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 2nd congressional district, serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in the southwestern part of the state and includes Albany, Thomasville and most of Columbus and Macon.

Early life, education, and law career

Bishop was born in Mobile, Alabama to Minnie B. Slade and Sanford Dixon Bishop,^[1] who was the first president of Bishop State Community College. He was educated at Morehouse College and Emory University School of Law, and served in the United States Army.^[2] While at Morehouse, he was a classmate of Herman Cain. After receiving his honorable discharge, Bishop operated a law firm in Columbus, Georgia.

He has received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), given to Eagle Scouts for distinguished career achievement.^[3][4] He is a member of BSA's Order of the Arrow (OA) and as a youth was on the OA ceremonies team.^[3] He is a resident of Albany, Georgia, where he is a member of the Mount Zion Baptist Church. Bishop is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity initiated at Morehouse College's Pi chapter.^[5] Bishop is a Shriner and 33° Mason.^[6]

In October 2013, Bishop announced he was diagnosed as having lymph node cancer after discovering a lump in near the base of his neck. By January 2014, Bishop said that he was cancer free.^[7][8]

Georgia legislature

He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1977, where he remained until being elected to the Georgia Senate in 1990.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

After only one term in the state senate, he ran for the 2nd District in 1992, which was held by six-term U.S. Congressman Charles Hatcher, a white moderate Democrat. The 2nd had been reconfigured as a black-majority district during congressional apportionment following the 1990 Census. Bishop finished second behind Hatcher in a crowded six-way primary. Hatcher failed to reach the 50% threshold, and was forced into a runoff election. During the campaign Bishop attacked Hatcher for bouncing 819 checks in the House banking scandal. Bishop defeated him 53%-47%.^[9] In the general election, he defeated Republican Jim Dudley 64%-36%.^[10]

1994

In the Democratic primary, he defeated James Bush 67%-33%.^[11] In the general election, he won re-election to a second term with 66%.^[12]

1996

In 1995, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court ruled that the redistricting of Georgia had violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 2nd district was thus redrawn. The newly redrawn district was 60% white. Nonetheless he won re-election to a third term with 54% of the vote.^[13]

1998

Bishop won re-election to a fourth term against Republican Joseph F. McCormick with 57% of the vote.^[14] During the campaign, Bishop received twice the campaign financing that his opponent raised. ^[15][16]

2000

Bishop defeated Dylan Glenn, a young black Republican who received strong backing from many national Republican leaders. The vote was 53%-47%.^[17]

2002

Bishop won re-election to a sixth term unopposed.^[18]

2004

Bishop won re-election to a seventh term with 67% of the vote.^[19]

2006

He won re-election to an eighth term with 68% of the vote.^[20]

2008

Bishop won re-election to a ninth term with 69% of the vote.^[21]

2010

Bishop won re-election to a tenth term against Republican State Representative Mike Keown, 51%-49%,^[22] the closest margin of his career. In a year where the Democrats lost the majority in the house, the New York Times noted that Bishop's re-election possibilities seemed slim as an "incumbent in an anti-Washington year", his identity as a black man in a majority white district (49% White,47% Black), and the scholarship scandal surrounding his non-profit.^[23]

2012

After redistricting, the 2nd district has once again become a black majority district. Notably, it added most of Macon, previously the heart of the 8th District. Bishop was heavily favored in the general election as a result.^[24] As expected, he defeated Republican John House with 63 percent of the vote.

Tenure

Bishop is one of the more conservative black Democrats in the House. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of moderate to conservative House Democrats. Due to his willingness to work across the aisle, Congressman Bishop was ranked the 16th most bipartisan member of the 114th Congress, which is made up of 435 total members. This ranking was part of the Bipartisan Index put forth by The Lugar Center in collaboration with Georgetown University.^[25] Serving a primarily agricultural district, Bishop has fought to preserve the federal price supports for peanuts, southwest Georgia's most important crop. The New York Times quoted Mr. Adams, chairman of the agency that administers Federal farm programs in Georgia saying "It's questionable whether it would have survived without the votes he brought to it".^[26] In 1997, he caused considerable controversy within his own party by cosponsoring a bill by U.S. Representative Ernest Istook (R-Oklahoma) to introduce a constitutional amendment to protect religious expression on public property, known as the H. J. Res, 78, the Religious Freedom Amendment. The specific wording of the amendment allowing the practice of religion on public property, most notably public schools, reads as follows:

"To secure the people's fight to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: The people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage and traditions shall not be infringed. The Government shall not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate- against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion...The people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed."^[27]

On October 10, 2002, Sanford Bishop was one of only four of 36 Congressional Black Caucus members who voted for the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War. The other three Congressional Black Caucus members who voted for the resolution authorizing the Iraq War are no longer members of Congress: Bill Jefferson of Louisiana, Albert Wynn of Maryland, and Harold Ford, Jr. of Tennessee.^[28][29][30]

On September 10, 2007, Sanford Bishop endorsed Barack Obama for President and was co-chair of Georgia for Obama campaign; Bishop's wife, Vivian Creighton Bishop, a municipal court clerk in Columbus, was co-chair of the Georgia Women for Hillary committee.^[31] However, he joined with other pro-life Democrats who voted no on President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because of wording in the bill that permits federal funding for Abortions.^[32]

Controversies

In September, 2010, the Associated Press reported that Bishop had, between 2003 and 2005, directed scholarships and awards funded by the Congressional Black Caucus to ineligible persons, including his stepdaughter, Aayesha Owens Reese, his niece, Emmaundia J. Whitaker, and other people with close ties to the family, threatening to turn the program into a larger political problem for the party. Ashton McRae released a statement by Bishop's office, "It is our understanding that the CBC Foundation in 2008 revisited the guidelines and processes for its scholarship programs, and as such, included language to clarify that CBC family members are not eligible to receive the scholarships. These scholarships… were awarded prior to 2008.”^[33] Ultimately Rep. Bishop's spokesman said the congressman would repay the scholarship fund for any awards he made in violation of the rules.^[34] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington mentioned Bishop in its annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress report in 2011.^[35]

In 1997, the Pigford v. Glickman lawsuit came out of legislative discrimination of black farmers, the case was led by Timothy Pigford and 400 black farmers. The Washington Times reported that by the end of the case in 1999, over 94,000 claims were filed in conjuncture with the original case, "even though the U.S. Census Bureau never counted more than 33,000 black farmers in America during the years in question."^[36] In 2007, then Senator Barack Obama passed legislation to increase the amount of money given via Pigford II. Since then reports from multiple news sources have reported on the growing reports of fraud within the program. In February 2011, three farmers brought these allegations of fraud to Mr. Bishop, including Eddie Slaughter, vice president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, Bishop responded with "yes, I am aware that there is fraud in the program, that's why anti-fraud provisions were written into the settlement...It's not my job to monitor fraud in the program."^[36][37] Interviews with Mr. Slaughter have circulated the internet and criticism has been raised regarding his comments about fraud allegations leading the end of the program.^[38]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Diabetes Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Cement Caucus

Honors

• 2015 - Bishop was appointed as a Member of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom^[39]

See also

• List of African-American United States Representatives

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sanford Bishop.

• Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. official U.S. House site
• Sanford Bishop for Congress
• Sanford Bishop at DMOZ
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress