{{Short description|American politician (born 1957)}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Click Bishop | image = Click Bishop portrait, 2019 (3X4 crop).jpg | caption = Bishop in January 2019 | state_senate = Alaska | term_start = January 18, 2013 | term_end = January 21, 2025 | predecessor = ''Redistricted'' | successor = Mike Cronk | constituency = District C (2013−2023)<br>District R (2023−2025) | office1 = Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development | governor1 = Sarah Palin<br>Sean Parnell | term_start1 = January 11, 2007 | term_end1 = April 2012 | predecessor1 = Greg O’Claray | successor1 = Dianne Blumer | birth_name = Clark Calvin Bishop | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|7|25}} | birth_place = Mexico, Missouri, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = Darlene | children = 2 }} '''Clark Calvin''' "'''Click'''" '''Bishop''' (born July 25, 1957) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Alaska Senate from 2013 to 2025.<ref name="AL">{{cite web |url= https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/32?code=BIS |title= Click Bishop |publisher= Alaska Legislature |location= Juneau, Alaska |accessdate=April 8, 2026}}</ref> Bishop represented the western Fairbanks North Star Borough and many rural communities in Interior Alaska. Bishop served as the state's Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from 2007 to 2012.<ref name=NewsMiner-20191216>{{cite news |last1=McGroarty |first1=Erin |title=Get to know your legislator: CLICK BISHOP |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/get-to-know-your-legislator-click-bishop/article_2d18248e-1fde-11ea-a59d-c73882344b54.html |accessdate=May 18, 2025 |publisher=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=December 16, 2019 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |date=January 11, 2007 |title=Governor Palin Appoints Three More to Administration |url=http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=68 |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=State of Alaska |agency=Newsroom |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://wayback.archive-it.org/1200/20090706235146/http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=68&type=1 |archive-date=July 6, 2009 |access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cornwall |first=Daniel |last2=Bornstein |first2=Sara |date=April 2013 |title=Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development [List of commissioners and deputy commissioners] 1959 – Present |url=https://library.alaska.gov/hist/hist_docs/docs/asl_JK9530.A492_VF.pdf |website=Alaska State Library Historical Collections |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=Alaska State Library |access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
==Early life== Clark Bishop was born on July 25, 1957, in Mexico, Missouri, the older of two children born to Howell Calvin Bishop and wife Jacqueline (née Murphy).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jacqueline "Jackie" Bishop obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsminer/name/jacqueline-bishop-obituary?id=32169560|access-date=June 26, 2022|work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|date=January 8, 2022}}</ref> In 1959, the family moved to Alaska. They spent over a decade living in a variety of small settlements along the Alaska Highway and Richardson Highway corridors while the elder Bishop worked in construction. Bishop moved to Fairbanks to complete his education, graduating from Lathrop High School in 1974.<ref name="PVS">{{cite web |url= http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/71264 |title= Senator Clark Bishop's Biography |publisher= Project Vote Smart |accessdate= October 30, 2013}}</ref>
==Union career== After graduation from high school, Bishop joined the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 and, starting with the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, worked on diverse construction projects across the state. From 1991 until his retirement from the union in 2006, Bishop was the administrator and coordinator for the Alaska Operating Engineers/Employers Training Trust. The Trust offers heavy equipment training for apprentice and journey-level workers.<ref name=NewsMiner-20141031>{{cite news |last=Bohman |first=Amanda |date=October 31, 2014 |title=Alaska Senate District C candidates grapple with family ties |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/politics/alaska-senate-district-c-candidates-grapple-with-family-ties/article_a7be1236-6196-11e4-931a-001a4bcf6878.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=May 18, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Alaska Senate Majority: Senator Click Bishop |url=http://www.alaskasenate.org/senate/member/click-bishop/ |website=Alaska Senate Majority |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=Senate Majority Press Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918010750/http://www.alaskasenate.org/senate/member/click-bishop/ |archive-date=September 18, 2014 |access-date=May 18, 2025}}</ref>
==Political career== Bishop somewhat reluctantly left retirement later in 2006 to become Labor Commissioner, the head of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, under newly elected Governor Sarah Palin.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McGroarty |first1=Erin |title=Get to know your legislator: CLICK BISHOP |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/get-to-know-your-legislator-click-bishop/article_2d18248e-1fde-11ea-a59d-c73882344b54.html |url-access=subscription |accessdate=May 18, 2025 |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |work=The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |date=December 16, 2019 |quote="I told her (Palin) ‘no’ the first time. I told her ‘no’ the second time. But she asked a third time," Bishop said, recalling his mind was changed by a friend’s urging to step up to the challenge.}}</ref> When Governor Palin resigned in July 2009, her successor, former lieutenant governor Sean Parnell, kept Bishop on as Labor Commissioner. When Parnell was elected governor in his own right in November 2010, he again retained Bishop as head of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Bishop retired as Labor Commissioner in March 2012, and less than two months later filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) to run for a Senate seat.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=May 17, 2012 |title=Ex-labor commissioner files intent to run for state Senate |url=https://www.newsminer.com/ex-labor-commissioner-files-intent-to-run-for-state-senate/article_4f35418f-2c69-5b84-9307-aa53facfd482.html |url-access=subscription |work=The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |agency=Associated Press |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=May 18, 2025}}</ref>
===2013-2014 Alaska Senate term=== Bishop entered elected politics via the hotly contested 2012 Republican primary for Senate Seat C, newly created by redistricting.<ref name=20120731-NewsMiner>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=July 31, 2012 |title=Republican primary for Senate District C is state's most expensive |url=https://www.newsminer.com/republican-primary-for-senate-district-c-is-states-most-expensive/article_b88c90fb-79d5-51a6-8a26-f31fd00039e6.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> At that time the Senate was controlled by a bipartisan coalition of moderates, and the main campaign issue in that primary was a pledge not to join the coalition, but only the Republican caucus.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=August 19, 2012 |title=High stakes in Senate District C race |url=https://www.newsminer.com/high-stakes-in-senate-district-c-race/article_2aaf172c-2a51-5aa4-9ecd-eec08c94bf5c.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Unlike his two primary opponents, Bishop did not take the pledge, explaining that he would join whatever group that would best lower energy costs in interior Alaska. Bishop's chief opponent, former state senator Ralph Seekins, charged that Bishop was not a “real Republican”,<ref name=20120817-NewsMiner>{{cite news |last=Cole |first=Dermot |date=August 17, 2012 |title=Republican pledge divides candidates in state Senate contest |url=https://www.newsminer.com/campaign-ads-phone-calls-draw-complaints-in-senate-district-c-primary/article_7ab866cd-3fee-5e14-acb2-5e6940f7320e.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> citing Bishop's past lack of involvement with the state Republican Party organization. Seekins saw labor union contributions to Bishop's campaign as a sign that the Democratic Party was secretly supporting Bishop (Bishop replied that, given his long union history, union support was to be expected).<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=August 1, 2012 |title=Click Bishop garners union support in District C GOP primary |url=https://www.newsminer.com/click-bishop-garners-union-support-in-district-c-gop-primary/article_74c69d09-ecea-5315-93b7-ca2ce2beb690.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription |quote=“It’s very simple, (unions) normally support the Democrat candidate, and they figure they’ve got their candidate here. It was no big surprise to see it,” [Seekins] said. “I know he’s a registered Republican, and I’ve known him for years, but I’ve never seen him at a Republican event and I’ve never seen him raise money for a Republican candidate…The Democrats are pretty devious on this system,” he said. “They are basically supporting (Bishop) in the Republican primary, which they have never done in Alaska before, and there will be no general election and it will all end at that.” }}</ref> This primary race was the most expensive in the state, with Seekins funding most of his own campaign.<ref name=20120731-NewsMiner/> Bishop won the three-way August 28 Republican primary with 47% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/12PRIM/data/results.htm |title= State of Alaska 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012 Official Results |publisher= State of Alaska Division of Elections |location= Juneau, Alaska |accessdate= October 30, 2013 }}</ref>
Bishop faced Democrat Anne Sudkamp in the general election. In contrast to the fierce primary, the general election was characterized by positive campaigns on both sides. Sudkamp said, “I have to say that it’s been great running against Click Bishop. We’re not running negative campaigns and we’re getting our ideas out and we’re enjoying campaigning.” Bishop easily defeated Sudkamp's shoestring campaign<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=November 1, 2012 |title=Senate District C race stays cordial |url=https://www.newsminer.com/senate-district-c-race-stays-cordial/article_fc439ccd-2a02-510b-a7f6-2e6c57fb33cf.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Company |access-date=June 15, 2025 }}</ref> with 70% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/12GENR/data/results.htm |title= State of Alaska 2012 General Election November 6, 2012 Official Results |publisher= State of Alaska Division of Elections |location= Juneau, Alaska |accessdate= October 30, 2013 }}</ref> After the election, changes in the makeup of the Senate led to the dissolution of the bipartisan Senate leadership coalition. Bishop joined the Republican caucus that replaced it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=November 8, 2012 |title=GOP takes control of Alaska Senate |url=https://www.newsminer.com/gop-takes-control-of-alaska-senate/article_bf25b4c9-e655-56b1-9aeb-8810fc2b8e77.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Bishop served on the powerful Finance Committee, a committee on which he would remain for his entire Senate career.<ref name=20250514-APM/> He also served as co-chair of the Senate Special Committee on In-State Energy. Bishop and other House and Senate lawmakers from interior Alaska shepherded to passage legislation which implemented Governor Sean Parnell’s plan to truck natural gas from the Alaska North Slope to Fairbanks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=April 18, 2013 |title=Freshman Interior legislators reflect on session |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/freshman-interior-legislators-reflect-on-session/article_a17479dc-a7fd-11e2-8644-0019bb30f31a.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Bishop was counted among the moderate Republican senators who were the swing votes on controversial legislation, sometimes to the annoyance of more conservative Republicans.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=April 14, 2013 |title=As session wraps up, all eyes look to Fairbanks' Sen. Bishop |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/as-session-wraps-up-all-eyes-look-to-fairbanks-sen-bishop/article_fdfb4602-a4da-11e2-8308-001a4bcf6878.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=May 19, 2014 |title=It'll be Dick vs. Click (Bishop), former state representative to challenge Fairbanks senator (Update: Wait, not really) |url=https://www.newsminer.com/blogs/politics_cache/itll-be-dick-vs-click-bishop-former-state-representative-to-challenge-fairbanks-senator-update-wait/article_a651e4d4-df89-11e3-ad44-0017a43b2370.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He opposed a constitutional amendment to establish school vouchers, as well as another constitutional amendment which would have increased the number of political appointees on the Alaska Judicial Council, an independent citizen's committee which evaluates applicants for judgeships and nominates judicial candidates to the governor. He also opposed a bill which would have greatly expanded the power of the commissioner of natural resources to promote development. All three were supported by conservatives and none passed the Senate.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mauer |first=Richard |date=June 2, 2014 |title=McGuire withdraws from lieutenant governor race just before filing deadline |url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/mcguire-withdraws-lieutenant-governor-race-just-filing-deadline/2014/06/03/ |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 8, 2025 |url-access=subscription}} </ref>
===2015-2018 Alaska Senate term=== In 2014, Bishop ran unopposed in the Republican primary after two former state legislators filed to run against him and then quickly withdrew.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=May 20, 2014 |title=Update: Alan Dick files to challenge Click Bishop in primary, then withdraws |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/update-alan-dick-files-to-challenge-click-bishop-in-primary-then-withdraws/article_9e9fc070-dfee-11e3-9371-001a4bcf6878.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=June 24, 2014 |title=Former Sen. Mike Miller drops from primary against Bishop |url=https://www.newsminer.com/former-sen-miller-drops-from-primary-against-bishop/article_a6c3ec68-fb6e-11e3-89c8-0017a43b2370.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025}} </ref> In the general election, Bishop easily defeated his Democratic challenger Dorothy Shockley with 64% of the vote<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/14GENR/data/results.htm |title=2014 GENERAL ELECTION. November 4, 2014. Official Results |publisher=State of Alaska Division of Elections |location= Juneau, Alaska |accessdate=June 15, 2024 }}</ref> in a race noted for its mutual courtesy, not only because of the candidates' shared distaste for negative campaigning but because Shockley is the cousin of Bishop’s wife.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=November 4, 2014 |title=Bishop, Kelly, Dunleavy head back to Alaska Senate |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/politics/bishop-kelly-dunleavy-head-back-to-alaska-senate/article_c5f0e38a-64c7-11e4-91f0-001a4bcf6878.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 14, 2025}} </ref>
Bishop served as chair of the Community and Regional Affairs Committee in addition to keeping his Finance Committee seat.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=November 5, 2014 |title=Senate Republicans announce leadership |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/politics/senate-republicans-announce-leadership/article_9beb47e8-658e-11e4-a7c0-0017a43b2370.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Dorothy Snedden Foundation |access-date=}}</ref>
Bishop was active in seeking new solutions to the state's budget deficit, estimated at $4 billion in 2015. Many Republican legislators preferred budget cuts, while Democratic legislators supported increased taxes on the oil industry. In contrast, Bishop in the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions sought to revive the so-called "education tax" that was repealed in 1980, when state government shifted its income from taxing its citizens to taxing the production of North Slope petroleum. Now called the "employment tax", the proposed tax (from $100 to $500 depending on the taxpayer's income) would only mitigate, not solve, the shortfall. It would be collected by employers and would sunset in 2024 or if the budget crisis was solved by production of North Slope natural gas.<ref> {{cite news |last=Herz |first=Nathaniel |date=April 7, 2015 |title=In Alaska Legislature, a second Republican proposes tax measure |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/article/alaska-legislature-second-republican-proposes-tax-measure-0/2015/04/08/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref><ref> {{cite news |last=Herz |first=Nathaniel |date=January 9, 2017 |title=Ballot selfies, GMO fish ban: Besides the budget, what's on agenda for Alaska lawmakers? |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/01/09/whats-on-tap-for-alaska-lawmakers-aside-from-budget-ballot-selfies-gmo-fish-ban-among-new-bills/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> Bishop's proposal was not successful, even when Governor Bill Walker took it up and presented a modified version to the legislature in 2017.<ref> {{cite news |last=Herz |first=Nathaniel |date=June 7, 2017 |title=Alaska Gov. Walker's 'compromise' offer moves state lawmakers no closer to budget deal |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2017/06/05/alaska-gov-walker-presents-compromise-proposal-with-tax-to-break-deficit-reduction-logjam/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
Another Bishop proposal to reduce the budget shortfall met with more favor. Part of the Alaska Permanent Fund is distributed to Alaskans each year in the form of the Permanent Fund Dividend. Bishop's bill established an annual "Education Raffle", where Alaskans could purchase lottery tickets using part of their Permanent Fund Dividend. The proceeds of ticket sales would be divided between raffle winners and state education costs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Herz |first=Nathaniel |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Senator proposes PFD lottery to boost education |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/03/06/its-clicks-pick-click-bet-senator-would-create-pfd-lottery-to-boost-education/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> The inaugural Education Raffle was held in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=James |date=January 28, 2020 |title=Alaska picks four winners for inaugural PFD raffle |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/01/29/alaska-picks-four-winners-for-inaugural-pfd-raffle/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
===2019-2022 Alaska Senate term=== In 2018, Bishop was unopposed in the primary<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=August 15, 2018 |title=Click Bishop--Senate District C |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/click-bishop--senate-district-c/article_5e92d3b0-a00a-11e8-8040-b37f0d8eb0f9.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025 }}</ref> and general elections.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=November 26, 2018 |title=2018 GENERAL ELECTION. November 6, 2018. Official Results |url=https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/18GENR/data/results18.htm |website=Division of Elections |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=State of Alaska |access-date=June 15, 2025 }}</ref> After the election, Bishop's assignments to Senate standing committees increased; in addition to his Finance Committee seat, he was chosen as chair of the Community and Regional Affairs Committee and also took his place on the Health and Social Services Committee, the Resources Committee, and the Labor and Commerce Committee.<ref>{{cite news |last=McGroarty |first=Erin |date=November 28, 2018 |title=Fairbanks senator has his hands full heading into 2019 legislative session |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-senator-has-his-hands-full-heading-into-2019-legislative-session/article_1b8d433c-f2eb-11e8-92f7-b3c6dfedcb6a.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025 }}</ref>
Bishop also served as vice chair of the Senate Legislative Budget and Audit Committee. In the run-up to the 2019 legislative session, Bishop said, “My priorities this session are the budget, the budget, [and] the budget.”<ref>{{cite news |last=McGroarty |first=Erin |date=January 16, 2019 |title=Alaska State Senate already discussing budget priorities |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/alaska-state-senate-already-discussing-budget-priorities/article_292affd2-1962-11e9-9e19-e3f03e3f3373.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the 2021 legislative session, Bishop rose to be capital budget co-chair of the Finance Committee, complementing operating budget co-chair Senator Bert Stedman
Bishop proposed an ultimately unsuccessful bill to improve road maintenance by doubling the gasoline tax and increasing the registration fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The doubling would have increased Alaska's gasoline tax from the lowest in the U.S. upward two places, to the 48th-highest in the nation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=James |date=February 3, 2020 |title=To fix Alaska's roads, Fairbanks senator proposes doubling gas tax and making electric-car owners pay more for registration |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2020/02/04/to-fix-alaskas-roads-fairbanks-senator-proposes-doubling-gas-tax-and-making-electric-car-owners-pay-more/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> Although the bill passed the Senate,<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=James |date=March 2, 2020 |title=Alaska Senate votes to raise gas tax, but additional highway funding isn't guaranteed |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2020/03/03/alaska-senate-votes-to-raise-gas-tax-but-additional-highway-funding-isnt-guaranteed/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> it was not taken up by the House.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=May 19, 2020 |title=31st Legislature(2019-2020) Bill History/Action for Legislature |url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/31?Root=SB+115 |website=The Alaska State Legislature |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Legislature |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
As withdrawals from the Permanent Fund have become the major source of funding for the state of Alaska, annual state funding has increasingly come into conflict with the annual Permanent Fund Dividend. The size of the dividend was historically determined by a formula set by law, but more recently has been negotiated year-by-year to a smaller amount to mitigate budget shortfalls. In 2019<ref>{{cite news |last=McGroarty |first=Erin |date=May 1, 2019 |title=Alaska Senate panel advances 50/50 permanent fund split out of committee |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/alaska-senate-panel-advances-50-50-permanent-fund-split-out-of-committee/article_5df29700-6be9-11e9-9dff-07a528164147.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> and 2022<ref>{{cite news |last=Samuels |first=Iris |date=May 16, 2022 |title=Dividend amount unknown as budget deadline nears |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2022/05/16/dividend-amount-unknown-as-budget-deadline-nears/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> Bishop ranged himself against the proponents of the larger statutory dividend. Likening the state of Alaska to a private company, Bishop laid out his philosophy in 2019: <blockquote> I have no problem paying a statutorily driven dividend if the company is making money, but when the company is deficit spending I don’t support paying the full dividend. I'm not going to balance the budget to pay a full dividend when we’re taking away money from the university and schools and seniors.<ref>{{cite news |last=McGroarty |first=Erin |date=February 13, 2019 |title=Fairbanks legislators blast Dunleavy budget plan |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/fairbanks-legislators-blast-dunleavy-budget-plan/article_da5f3f40-3008-11e9-b259-97043a73772d.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> </blockquote>
Bishop did not always vote with his Republican colleagues. In May 2022, the Republican party organization in House District 36, one of the two House districts which comprised Bishop's Senate district, voted to censure Bishop for votes of his which the organization said violated the Alaska Republican Party platform. The votes in question included votes on COVID-19 policy, public education and the Permanent Fund Dividend. The state Republican Party took no position on the censure.<ref name=20220524-NewsMiner>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=May 24, 2022 |title= District Republicans censure Sen. Click Bishop |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/district-republicans-censure-sen-click-bishop/article_91b9b8e6-daf1-11ec-a746-a3c6a82cbafe.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025 |url-access=subscription}} </ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=A Resolution to Censure Senator Click Bishop And Withhold All Support |url=https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/newsminer.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/1a/51abf660-dbb4-11ec-931d-f3458ae19f3f/628d621cb7697.pdf.pdf |publisher=BLOX Digital |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref>
===2023-2024 Alaska Senate term===
Redistricting changed the boundaries of Bishop's Senate District C, and also its name, to Senate District R. The party primaries were also replaced by an open primary in which the top four finishers advanced to the general election. Consequently, in Bishop's bid for reelection in 2022 he was opposed in both the primary and the general elections by Republican Elijah Verhagen and Alaskan Independence Party candidate Robert “Bert” Williams. Verhagen was the chair of the District 36 Republican committee that had voted to censure Bishop earlier in the year. The main issue of the 2022 campaign was affordable energy. Bishop designated it as his focus for his next term if he won, which he did with 56% of the general election vote.<ref name=20220524-NewsMiner/><ref>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda F. |date=August 16, 2022 |title=Incumbents lead primary competition for Alaska Legislature |url=https://www.newsminer.com/election2022/incumbents-lead-primary-competitions-for-alaska-legislature/article_4ca8bc8e-1dfe-11ed-9873-971108ebddb4.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Barnwell |first=Jack |date=November 2, 2022 |title=Energy charges the discussion at Chamber forum |url=https://www.newsminer.com/election2022/incumbents-lead-primary-competitions-for-alaska-legislature/article_4ca8bc8e-1dfe-11ed-9873-971108ebddb4.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref>
In contrast to the Republican-dominated majority coalitions that had prevailed during Bishop's legislative career to this point, after the election Bishop joined a bipartisan majority coalition comprising all nine Democrats and eight of the eleven Republicans; that is, seventeen members of the twenty-member Alaska Senate. In addition to his seat on the Finance Committee, Bishop became majority whip, co-chair of the Resources Committee, vice chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee, and a member of two joint committees with the House: the Legislative Council and the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.<ref>{{cite news |last=Samuels |first=Iris |date=November 25, 2022 |title=9 Democrats and 8 Republicans form bipartisan majority in Alaska Senate |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2022/11/25/9-democrats-and-8-republicans-form-bipartisan-majority-in-alaska-senate/?ref=northernjournal.com |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=January 20, 2023 |title=The full list of 2023 Alaska House and Senate committee assignments |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2023/01/20/the-full-list-of-2023-alaska-house-and-senate-committee-assignments/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Binkley Co. |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
At the start of the 2023 session, Bishop repeated his position that the legislature's annual withdrawals from the Permanent Fund must prioritize funding state government over funding a large Permanent Fund Dividend. He pointed out that $17 billion in dividends had been paid since 2002, and during that time the state's gross domestic product had fallen and the population had experienced net out-migration. Bishop's moral was that some of those dividends would have been better spent building the state's economy by infrastructure investment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rosen |first=Yereth |date=January 6, 2023 |title=Legislative leader touts consensus approach and outlines likely priorities for Alaska Senate |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/01/06/legislative-leader-touts-consensus-approach-and-outlines-likely-priorities-for-alaska-senate/ |work=Alaska Beacon |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Beacon |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
During the 2023 session, Bishop was one of three sponsors of a bipartisan bill to create a new defined benefit pension plan for state workers. Seven other senators signed on as co-sponsors. The previous pension program had been replaced in 2006 by a 401(k)-style defined contribution program. The bill was intended to address ongoing recruitment problems for the state that had created a 20% vacancy rate for state jobs at that time. Pension bills had been regularly introduced by legislators representing the state capital, Juneau, but none had attracted this much support.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=James |date=March 1, 2023 |title=Alaska senators introduce bipartisan bill intended to revive a pension program for state workers |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/03/01/alaska-senators-introduce-bipartisan-bill-intended-to-revive-a-pension-program-for-state-workers/ |work=Alaska Beacon |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Beacon |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> The bill passed the Senate<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=James |date=January 31, 2024 |title=Alaska Senate passes new pension program for state employees, but final approval is in question |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/01/31/alaska-senate-passes-new-pension-program-for-state-employees-but-final-approval-is-in-question/ |work=Alaska Beacon |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Beacon |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> but stalled in the House.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=33rd Legislature(2023-2024) Bill History/Action for Legislature |url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/33?Root=sb+88 |website=The Alaska State Legislature |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=The Alaska State Legislature |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref>
At the start of the 2024 session, Bishop reiterated that affordable energy was the issue of the day; in particular, addressing the decline of natural gas supplies available to heat Alaska's populous south-central region. Speaking to a joint hearing of the Resource Committees of the House and Senate, Bishop said: <blockquote> I’ve got 60 years’ worth of reports in my office on energy plans in this state. We have known what to do for 60 years, and we have done nothing. And we’ve got to do something. And it happens right here in this room. And it’s got to happen this session. <ref>{{cite news |last=Rosen |first=Yereth |date=February 20, 2024 |title=Lawmakers aim numerous bills at alleviating Southcentral Alaska's natural gas supply crunch |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/02/20/lawmakers-aim-numerous-bills-at-alleviating-southcentral-alaskas-natural-gas-supply-crunch/ |work=Alaska Beacon |location=Anchorage, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Beacon |access-date=August 30, 2025}} </ref> </blockquote>
In May 2024, shortly before the filing deadline to run for reelection, Bishop issued a statement that he would not be running, saying that he would be focusing on his family and on his gold mining for the next two years. He also wrote, “There is still a determination inside me to fix our current path of rising energy costs and the loss of our working-age population. It is clear that addressing those issues requires taking on a bigger role than serving in the legislature.”<ref>{{cite news |last=Maguire |first=Sean |last2=Samuels |first2=Iris |date=May 29, 2024 |title=Alaska Rep. Dan Ortiz, Sen. Click Bishop say they won't run for reelection |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2024/05/29/alaska-rep-dan-ortiz-sen-click-bishop-say-they-wont-run-for-reelection/ |url-access=subscription |work=Anchorage Daily News |location=Anchorage, Alaska |access-date=June 15, 2025}} </ref>
===2026 Alaska gubernatorial election=== {{main|2026 Alaska gubernatorial election}} On May 5, 2025, Bishop filed a letter of intent to run for governor with APOC, the first step to participation in the 2026 Alaska gubernatorial campaign.<ref name=20250514-APM>{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Eric |date=May 5, 2025 |title=2 Republicans kick off 2026 campaign for Alaska governor |url=https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/2025-05-05/two-republicans-kick-off-2026-campaign-for-alaska-governor |publisher=Alaska Public Media |access-date=May 14, 2025}}</ref> On April 8, 2026, Bishop announced his lieutenant governor running mate: Greta Schuerch, the vice chair of the NANA Regional Corporation board of directors. Schuerch is also the senior advisor on government relations for the Canadian mining corporation Teck Resources which operates the Red Dog zinc and lead mine in Alaska. Schuerch, an Iñupiat, was registered as a nonpartisan voter at the time of the announcement but unsuccessfully ran for the Alaska House in 2012 as a Democrat.<ref name=20260410-NewsMiner>{{cite news |last=Barnwell |first=Jack |date=April 10, 2026 |title=Click Bishop selects Iñupiaq leader as running mate |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/click-bishop-selects-i-upiaq-leader-as-running-mate/article_c6083ed0-fcc9-4cef-948a-224a002d3043.html#tncms-source=login |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Company |access-date=April 16, 2026 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
The ''Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'' reported on April 10, 2026 that Bishop had outlined his top priorities to them in an interview. Bishop continued his ongoing focus on affordable energy for the state, saying that “Cheap energy and the economy are joined at the hip.” Other priorities were improving the state's public education system and its fisheries industry.<ref name=20260410-NewsMiner/>
==Personal life== Darlene, Bishop's wife, is Athabascan and a retired kindergarten teacher. They have two children.<ref name=NewsMiner-20141031/><ref name=SenateBio>{{cite web |title=Senator Click Bishop |url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/Member/Detail/32?code=BIS |website=Alaska State Legislature |location=Juneau, Alaska |publisher=State of Alaska |access-date=May 21, 2025}}</ref>
A keen outdoorsman, Bishop has twice (1998 and 2000) won the Yukon 800 Mile Marathon speedboat race from Fairbanks to Galena, Alaska and back.<ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Danny |date=June 18, 2014 |title=Yukon 800 boat race may see record purse |url=https://www.newsminer.com/sports/local_community/yukon-800-boat-race-may-see-record-purse/article_71f802aa-f784-11e3-9009-0017a43b2370.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025}}</ref><ref name=NewsMiner-20141031/> He mines gold at a placer mine near his cabin at Manley Hot Springs, where he and Darlene honeymooned in 1976.<ref name=NewsMiner-20141031/><ref>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Max |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Record Gold prices Could Mean a Banner Year for Alaska Mines |url=https://www.northernjournal.com/record-gold-prices-could-mean-a-banner-year-for-alaska-mines/ |work=Northern Journal |location=Anchorage, Alaska |access-date=June 8, 2025}}</ref>
Bishop is an active member of the Pioneers of Alaska, a statewide historical preservation society.<ref>{{cite news |last=Capps |first=Kris |date=August 22, 2019 |title= Model dredge donated to local Pioneers of Alaska group |url= https://www.newsminer.com/news/kris_capps/model-dredge-donated-to-local-pioneers-of-alaska-group/article_af45253c-c4ae-11e9-84ba-cb9ab205199c.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The Helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=June 8, 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160728125621/http://akleg.gov/legislator.php?id=bis Official Senate page] at the Alaska Legislature *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140918010750/http://www.alaskasenate.org/senate/member/click-bishop/ Official Senate Majority page] at the Alaska Senate * {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=71264 | fec= | congress= }} * [https://akleg.gov/100years/bio.php?id=1567 Click Bishop] at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' *{{C-SPAN|114923}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Click}} Category:1957 births Category:21st-century members of the Alaska Legislature Category:Living people Category:People from Fairbanks, Alaska Category:People from Mexico, Missouri Category:Republican Party Alaska state senators Category:State cabinet secretaries of Alaska Category:Trade unionists from Alaska