Brian Farkas

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Brian Farkas
North Carolina State House Representative Brian Farkas.jpg
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 9th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byPerrin Jones
Personal details
Born
Brian Austin Farkas

(1987-08-14) August 14, 1987 (age 34)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte (BA), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MPA)
Websitebrianfarkas.com

Brian Austin Farkas (born August 14, 1987) is an American politician and State Representative serving District 9 in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Early life and education[]

Farkas was raised in Pitt County, and attended J.H. Rose High School in Greenville.[1] Following graduation, he attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, and a minor in Economics.[2] Farkas worked for three years within the administrative division of the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from 2008 to 2011.[3]

From 2011 to 2013, Farkas attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Master of Public Administration from the UNC School of Government.[4] From 2012 to 2013, Farkas specialized in emergency management at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, located in the Research Triangle Park.[5]

In January 2014, Farkas joined a Greenville-based architecture firm as Director of Development and Client Relations.[6] While working in the private sector, Farkas continued to volunteer with a number of local and state boards and commissions. From 2014 to 2017, Farkas served on the City of Greenville, North Carolina Public Transportation and Parking Commission, the last two years as Vice Chair.[7] He is a two-term President of the Greenville Museum of Art, serving from July 2016 through June 2017 and again from July 2019 through June 2020.[8] In 2019, Governor Roy Cooper appointed Farkas to serve on the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the North Carolina State Bar as a public member.[9]

North Carolina General Assembly[]

In September 2015 Farkas announced his candidacy for 9th District in the North Carolina House of Representatives.[10] In the March 2016 Primary Election, he defeated Pitt County School Board member Walter Gaskins with over 60% of the vote.[11] In the 2016 General Election, Farkas faced Republican incumbent Greg Murphy, who had been appointed to serve following the resignation of Brian Brown. Murphy defeated Farkas to retain the seat for a full term.[12]

In November 2019, Farkas announced his candidacy to serve Pitt County's 9th District in the North Carolina House of Representatives.[13] House District 9 represents a significant portion of Pitt County, including Greenville, Grimesland, Pactolus, and Simpson.[14] In the March 2020 Primary Election, he defeated Jacob Hochard with over 62% of the vote.[15] In the 2020 General Election on November 3, Farkas faced Republican incumbent Perrin Jones, who had been appointed to serve following the resignation of Greg Murphy.[16] On November 3, 2020, Farkas defeated Jones to become the new Representative for North Carolina House District 9.[17] As a result of Farkas's election, the seat is represented by a Democrat for the first time since Representative Marian McLawhorn in 2012.[18]

2021-2022 Session[]

For the 2021-2022 Legislative session, Farkas was assigned to the following committees: Appropriations, Appropriations-General Government, Commerce, Education-Community Colleges, and Transportation.

Within the first 30 days of taking office, Farkas sponsored two pieces of legislation to fund the construction of a new building for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.[19] In November 2021, Farkas voted for the 2021-2023 State Budget, which included fully authorizing $215,000,000 toward the construction of a new facility, and immediately allocating over $75 million for advanced planning, design, and early construction.[20] In total, Farkas’ vote for the budget delivered over $315,000,000 in investment to Pitt County.[21]

After campaigning on fixing broken government in 2020, Farkas was a primary sponsor of House Bill 318,[22] which extended the "cooling off" period required before a former legislator can become a lobbyist, and House Bill 374 to make legislator's documents public records.[23] He also signed on as a primary sponsor of House Bill 542, the Fix Our Democracy Act, which advocated for campaign finance reform, nonpartisan judicial elections, and an independent redistricting commission.[24]

In March 2021, Farkas joined Representatives Adcock, Lambeth, and Gill as a primary sponsor of House Bill 348,[25] which would require at least one nurse in every public school across North Carolina beginning in the 2021–2022 school year.

In April 2021, Farkas filed House Bill 688 to fund the operations of the newly created Pitt County Behavioral Health Treatment Court.[26] He joined with Representatives Harris, Cooper-Suggs, and Lofton as primary sponsors of legislation to re-instate the North Carolina Earned Income Tax.[27] Farkas filed House Bill 772 to examine the state's delivery of long-term care to veterans and determine what improvements can be made to ensure exemplary services moving forward.[28] Working with Representatives Terry Brown and Jon Hardister, Farkas filed House Bill 802, which pilots Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) programs in the cities of Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville.[29] Funding for Pitt County's Behavioral Health Treatment Court, the long-term plan for veterans, and the STAR pilot project was included in the 2021-2023 State Budget.[30] In May 2021, Farkas secured over 50% of the House membership as sponsors of the Broadband Empowerment Act (House Bill 816), legislation he filed to give the North Carolina Department of Transportation the authority to construct telecommunications conduit for broadband in the state right-of-way.[31] Farkas’ first piece of legislation to pass the State House as the lead primary sponsor was House Bill 885, which modernized the public notice requirements across the State of North Carolina when a Sanitary Sewer Overflow occurs.[32]

On February 25 2022, Farkas filed to run for re-election to NC House District 9.[33]

References[]

  1. ^ https://brianfarkas.com/
  2. ^ https://brianfarkas.com/
  3. ^ https://brianfarkas.com/
  4. ^ https://brianfarkas.com/
  5. ^ https://brianfarkas.com/
  6. ^ jkf-arch.com/studio
  7. ^ https://greenvillenc.gov/home/showdocument?id=8830
  8. ^ Greenville+Museum+of+Art+2019-2020+Annual+Report.final.pdf (squarespace.com)
  9. ^ Storm, Janet. "Farkas appointed to state commission". Reflector. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  10. ^ Reflector Staff. "Farkas announces candidacy". Reflector. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  11. ^ "NC SBE Election Contest Details". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  12. ^ "NC SBE Election Contest Details". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  13. ^ Writer, Ginger Livingston Staff. "Two Democrats announce run for House District 9 seat". Reflector. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  14. ^ "NCGA House District 9 Map". North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  15. ^ "NC SBE Election Contest Details". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  16. ^ Reflector, The Daily. "Anesthesiologist selected as Murphy replacement". Reflector. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  17. ^ "NC SBE Election Contest Details". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  18. ^ Livingston, Ginger. "Democrats flip Pitt State House seat". Reflector.com. The Daily Reflector. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  19. ^ https://ncleg.gov/Members/IntroducedBills/H/769
  20. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/S105
  21. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/S105
  22. ^ https://ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/H318
  23. ^ https://ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/H374
  24. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h542
  25. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h348
  26. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/H688
  27. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/H499
  28. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h772
  29. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h802
  30. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/s105
  31. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h816
  32. ^ https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h885
  33. ^ Reflector, The Daily. "State legislative races, U.S. senate race begin to take shape". Reflector. Retrieved 2022-02-28.

External links[]

North Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 9th District
2021–Present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""