Ex-governor candidate seeks bankruptcy protection

Former North Carolina House member and previous gubernatorial candidate Bill Faison has filed for bankruptcy protection.

A federal court document Faison filed Jan. 3 lists the personal injury attorney as having assets of $9.4 million and liabilities of $7.2 million.

He said this week the Chapter 11 filing will allow him to restructure debt related to his Durham law firm that he personally guaranteed, and that he expects to pay all of his creditors. Faison attributed his problems in part to the Great Recession and changes approved by the General Assembly to limit medical malpractice cases.

The 66-year-old Faison, who lives in Orange County, was a state House member for eight years and ran third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2012, losing to Lt. Gov. WalterMaking people go hungry is a top priority for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Making people go hungry is a top priority for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Next week the House will vote on legislation to cut SNAP by roughly 5 percent. The bill is bypassing the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees food stamps, because it is a priority of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). "There's not been a single hearing on food stamps at all. Not one," said [Democratic Rep. Jim] McGovern, one of the panel's most outspoken opponents of cutting nutrition assistance. (The previous Congress, which wrapped up last year, held several hearings on nutrition legislation, though McGovern notes that the Agriculture Committee's membership has since changed.) "I hope through all this Syria stuff, that we're