Wesley T. Bishop

Wesley T. Bishop (born October 1967)^[1] is an African-American Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 4. He was formerly the state representative for District 99 in Orleans Parish, Louisiana.

Background

Bishop received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1990 from Southern University at New Orleans. From the University of Mississippi at Oxford, Mississippi, he received in 1991 a Master of Public Administration degree. He obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1995 from Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009, he was a Harvard University fellow.^[2][3]

He has formerly resided in Baton Rouge and in Ridgeland in Madison County in central Mississippi.^[4]

Bishop maintains a legal practice in New Orleans. He has been a faculty member and department head in his specialty, criminal justice, at his alma mater, Southern University in New Orleans. He has also been the Graduate School Dean and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. A former SUNO academic, Joseph Bouie, Jr., is a colleague of Bishop's in the Louisiana House from District 97. Bishop is a past board member of the New Orleans International Airport.^[3]

Political life

In 1999, Bishop ran unsuccessfully for the District 101 seat in the state House.^[3] In 2011, he won a special election for District 101. The position was vacated by the resignation of African-American Democrat Cedric Richmond, who unseated Republican Joseph Cao in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district in 2010. He received 75 percent of the vote over two intra-party rivals, Roland Joseph Barthe (born September 1946) and Willie Jones.^[5] He served in that position for a year. As a result of redistricting, Bishop was moved to the District 99 seat in the state House. In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011, he received 4,378 votes (81.6 percent); fellow Democrat Samuel Cowart (born February 1948) trailed with 989 votes (18.4 percent). The District 101 seat was taken by still another African-American Democrat, Edward Clark James, a lawyer from New Orleans.^[6]

Representative Bishop is a member of the Legislative Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus. He serves on these committees: (1) Appropriations, (2) Education, (3) Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs, and (4) Joint Legislative Budget.^[2][3]

Bishop's legislative ratings have ranged from 28 to 56 percent from the conservative Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2012. the National Federation of Independent Business rated Bishop 17 percent. In 2013 and 2014, the Louisiana Family Forum scored him 63 and 25 percent, respectively. In 2013 and 2014, he was rated 50 and 75 percent, respectively, by Louisiana Right to Life. He was rated 100 percent in 2013 and 2014 by the Louisiana Association of Educators.^[7]

In 2014, Bishop voted to require that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges near their clinics; only five House members opposed the measure. That same year, he voted to extend the time for implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. He voted to forbid the transportation of dogs in open truck beds on interstate highways. He voted to repeal anti-sodomy laws, but the measure failed in the House.^[8]

In 2013, Bishop voted to reduce penalties for the possession of marijuana. He did not vote on permanent concealed carry gun permits. He opposed keeping information on concealed carry permits confidential and out of the purview of the public record. He voted to increase judicial pay and to end the mandatory retirement age for judges. In 2012, he co-sponsored legislation to provide for parole eligibility for non-violent inmates. He voted to prohibit the use of telephones while driving. He supported state tax incentives to recruit a National Basketball Association team to Louisiana but opposed allowing taxpayers to deduct from their state income taxes funds given for scholarships. He opposed reducing the number of hours that polling locations remain open. Louisiana has traditionally had 14-hour polling days. In 2011, Bishop voted for a permanent tax on cigarettes. He opposed the requirement for drug testing of welfare recipients. He voted for an unsuccessful bill to increase court costs in the New Orleans Traffic Court. He opposed the redistricting bill for the Louisiana State Senate; the measure passed, 71-28.^[8]

In the primary election held on October 24, 2015, Bishop handily won the District 4 seat in the state Senate vacated by his fellow African-American Democrat, Edwin R. Murray. He polled 16,336 votes (64.8 percent) to 35.2 percent for his two intraparty opponents.^[9]

References