Sanford Bishop

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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
Born	February 4, 1947 (1947-02-04) (age 61) Mobile, Alabama
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Vivian Creighton
Religion	Baptist

Sanford Dixon Bishop Jr. (born February 4, 1947) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 2nd District of Georgia (map). The district is located in the southwestern part of the state and includes Albany, Thomasville and most of Columbus.

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 Law School, and served in the United States Army,^[2] entering the Reserve Officer Training Corps. While at Morehouse, he was a classmate of Herman Cain. After receiving his honorable discharge, Bishop operated a law firm in Columbus, Georgia, and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1977, where he remained until being elected to the Georgia Senate in 1990.

After only one term, he ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District, which was held by six-term Democrat Charles Hatcher. Bishop finished second behind Hatcher in a crowded six-way primary, forcing Hatcher into a runoff. In the runoff, Bishop attacked Hatcher for bouncing 819 checks in the House bank scandal. In addition, the 2nd had been reconfigured as a black-majority district during congressional apportionment following the 1990 Census. He won handily in November, and was reelected with little difficulty in 1994.

In 1995, a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court ruled that this redistricting violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, in 1998, Bishop was able to win reelection in the newly redrawn district, which was now 60 percent white. He has only faced one serious contest since then; in 2000 he narrowly fought off Republican Dylan Glenn, a young black Republican who received strong backing from many national Republican leaders.

He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Arguably the most conservative African-American Democrat in Congress, Bishop is a member of the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of moderate to conservative Democrats in Congress. Serving a primarily agricultural district, Bishop has fought to preserve the federal price supports for peanuts, southwest Georgia's most important crop. In 2005, 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.

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.

On June 14, 2002, Sanford Bishop was detained and questioned by police after urinating in a cup on an airline flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Hartsfield Airport.^[5]

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 were: indicted Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA), Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), and former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), now chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.^[6][7][8]

On September 10, 2007, Sanford Bishop endorsed Barack Obama for President and is co-chair of Georgia for Obama campaign; Bishop's wife, Vivian Creighton Bishop, a municipal court clerk in Columbus, is co-chair of the Georgia Women for Hillary committee.^[9]

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

[edit] References

1. ^ 1
2. ^ Veterans in the US House of Representatives 109th Congress (PDF). Navy League. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
3. ^ ^{a b} Townley, Alvin [2006-12-26]. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 165–72. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
4. ^ Distinguished Eagle Scouts. Troop & Pack 179. Retrieved on 2006-03-02.
5. ^ Congressional Leak (2002).
6. ^ Final vote results for roll call 455. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (October 10 2002).
7. ^ H.J.RES.114 To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq. THOMAS (October 16 2002).
8. ^ Eversley, Melanie. "Georgians in House divided on Iraq", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 10 2002, p. A1. "Democrat Sanford Bishop unabashedly announced his support of the current Republican president." 
9. ^ Dewan, Shaila. "Southern Blacks Are Split on Clinton vs. Obama", The New York Times, January 18 2008, p. A1. 

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. official House site
• Sanford Bishop at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Sanford D Bishop Jr. campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Sanford Bishop issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Sanford D. Bishop Jr. campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Sanford Bishop profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Sanford Bishop voting record
• Sanford Bishop for Congress official campaign site