Janet Howell
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 32nd district
In office
January 8, 1992 – January 10, 2024
Preceded byClive DuVal II
Succeeded byJennifer Boysko (Redistricting)
Personal details
Born (1944-05-07) May 7, 1944 (age 79)
Washington, D.C.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAlfred Hunt Howell (1966-present)
ResidenceFairfax County, Virginia
Alma materOberlin College (B.A., 1966)
University of Pennsylvania, (M.A., 1968)
CommitteesFinance and Appropriations (Chair)
Education and Health
Local Government
Privileges and Elections
Rules
[1][2][3][4][5]

Janet Denison Howell (born May 7, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991, where she represented the 32nd district in Fairfax County and portions of Arlington County until 2024.[6][1][7]

Biography

She was born to Edward Fulton and Elsie (Lightbown) Denison. Her father was a prominent economist at the U. S. Department of Commerce and the Brookings Institution, and fellow Oberlin alumnus.[8]

Howell taught in the Philadelphia school district, 1968–1969, and was a legislative assistant in the Virginia State Senate from 1989 to 1991.

The Reston Times named her Restonian of the year in 1984. In 1991 the Virginia Association of Social Workers honored her as Virginian of the year. She was named Senator of the Year (Fraternal Order of Police, 1998), Citizen of Yr. (ARC, 1998). She was Chairman of the Fairfax County, Virginia Social Services Board, 1979–82, State Bd. Social Svcs., Va., 1986–91, Reston (Va.) Transp. Com., 1986–91; pres. Reston Community Assn., 1982–85, Citizen of Yr., 1990.[2]

Howell reported financial assets in 2010 worth more than $US1.48 million and possibly more than $6 million.[9]

Electoral history

Summary

Virginia Senate, District 32: Results 1995 to 2019[10]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct Third Party Party Votes Pct
1995 Janet Howell 26,470 57% Robert M. McDowell 19,738 43%
1999 Janet Howell 25,966 58% Whitney Adams 18,615 42%
2003 Janet Howell 21,252 57% David M. Hunt 16,214 43%
2007 Janet Howell 28,089 97% no candidate Write-ins 818 3%
2011 Janet Howell 26,026 60% Patrick Forrest[11][12] 17,122 40%
2015 Janet Howell 31,156 94% no candidate Write-ins 1,974 6%
2019 Janet Howell 48,546 73% Arthur Purves 17,303 26% Write-ins 127 0.19%

2011 election campaign

Janet Howell ran for reelection in Virginia's November 8, 2011 election. The Virginia General Assembly drew new legislative districts to reflect the U.S. Census of 2010. As chairman of the Senate of Virginia's committee on privileges and elections, Mrs. Howell led the process to draw new Senate district boundaries, and she did so to preserve her party's majority and to improve her own reelection prospects within the law. If the U.S. Department of Justice or U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approves the plan, as required by the voting rights act, she will acquire some reliably Democrat voting precincts and shed others that lean Republican.[13][14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b "Senate of Virginia - Membership". Senate of Virginia. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2011. Born in Washington, D.C., May 7, 1944; educated at Oberlin College (B.A.); The University of Pennsylvania (M.A.); Member of Senate: 1992-.
  2. ^ a b "Janet D. Howell". The Complete Marquis Who's Who (Fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). Marquis Who's Who. 2008. Gale Document Number: GALE|K2014539537. Retrieved June 3, 2011. Gale Biography In Context.
  3. ^ Howell, Janet. "My Family". Retrieved June 5, 2011. Next month Hunt and I are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. We met our freshman year in college and married five days after graduation. Hunt has always supported me in every way and has been a huge booster every election cycle. He is an economist and is semi-retired from the Inter-American Development Bank. Hunt has really made a difference in several countries, especially Peru and Jamaica. He is an avid skier and outdoors man.
  4. ^ "VPAP | Candidates | Janet Howell | Personal Finances | Salary/Wages". Virginia Public Access Project. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2011. Janet Howell reported that a family member earned salary and wages of more than $10,000 from the following companies: InterAmerican Development Bank (Alfred Hunt Howell)
  5. ^ "Hunt Howell". LinedIn. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "Who's My Legislator?". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Janet D Howell (in Carroll's State Directory) Reproduced in Biography Resource Center (Fee). Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale. 2008 [2007]. K2416012781. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Lambert, Bruce (October 24, 1992). "E. F. Denison, Economist, 76; Devised G.N.P." The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  9. ^ "VPAP | Candidates | Janet Howell | Personal Finances | Securities, Mutual Funds, Investments". Virginia Public Access Project. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections.
  11. ^ McCaffrey, Scott; Trompeter, Brian (June 2, 2011). "GOP Challenger Makes Push to Unseat Howell in the 32nd". Sun Gazette. Springfield, Virginia: American Community Newspapers. pp. 13–14. In redrawing the state senate map this year, Democrats moved Republican leaning areas of McLean and Great Falls from Howell's district to the 31st District, being vacated by retiring Democrat Mary Margaret Whipple.
  12. ^ "In the 32nd Senate Race (editorial)". Sun Gazette. Springfield, Virginia: American Community Newspapers. June 2, 2011. p. 6. Democratic incumbent Janet Howell and Republican challenger Patrick Forrest are from the not-so-"new town" that is part of the reconfigured 32nd District - a district hand-crafted, so it seems, to allow Howell to ditch the most Republican-leaning areas of her current district, and pick up safely Democrataic ones...
    ...Howell had about $200,000 in the campaign coffers when the last reporting period ended in March, and no doubt has picked up plenty more.
  13. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S. (May 24, 2011). "DOJ requests interviews with redistricting legislators". Virginia Politics. The Washington Post.
  14. ^ "Sen. Thomas Norment now says he opposes bipartisan redistricting". Politifact.com Virginia. March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011. The Senate plan, drawn primarily by Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, would squeeze GOP Sens. Frank W. Wagner and Jeff McWaters, both of Virginia Beach, into the same district. It also would lump Sen. Stephen D. Newman, R-Lynchburg, into the same district as Sen. Ralph K. Smith, R-Botetourt County...
    ...But to our eyes, Howell's plan uses many of the same criteria Norment endorsed 10 years ago. Just as two Democrats stood to lose their seats in 2001, two Republicans are out of luck in 2011.
  15. ^ Bowman, Bobbi (December 28, 2010). "Our Senator at Center of Redistricting Battle; Sen. Janet Howell Heads Key Committee". McLean Patch. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011. State Sen. Janet Howell whose 32nd district includes McLean, will be a key player this year's redistricting battle because she heads the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. "We are charged with approving a redistricting plan for the state Senate and, along with the House, the US Congressional districts," she said. "We now know the population total for Virginia," said Howell. " We also know that Northern Virginia will pick up a Senate seat. However, since the population growth in uneven the impact on various districts is going to vary. One thing for certain, every Senate seat will have to be changed significantly," she said. "We do not know where the (new) district will be because Census will not send the needed data until February. Lots of people are creating scenarios but I think it is premature," said Howell, who started holding hearings on redistricting this fall.
  16. ^ McCaffrey, Scott; Orrin Konheim (June 3, 2011). "In Re-Election Kickoff, Howell Says She Delivers for Region". Sun Gazette. Springfield, Va. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2011. State Sen. Janet Howell formally kicked off her bid for re-election June 1 by telling Democrats she has delivered for them, and the region, in the General Assembly.

Sources

External links

Senate of Virginia Preceded byClive DuVal II Member of the Virginia Senate from the 32nd district 1992–2024 Succeeded bySuhas Subramanyam
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