Janet Howell, who represented portions of Arlington for two separate stints during a 32-year career in the Virginia Senate, is being remembered as a legislative titan who could work across the aisle while not surrendering her core beliefs.
Howell died at age 82 yesterday (Sunday).
A generally moderate, results-oriented Democrat, Howell over the years won praise from organizations as diverse as the League of Conservation Voters, Virginia Education Association, Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Howell was the first woman to serve on the powerful Senate Committee on Appropriations. Later, when it had been renamed the Committee on Finance and Appropriations, she was the first woman to chair it.
As news of her death spread, praises poured in:
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D): “Sen. Howell spent her career serving her community — and our entire commonwealth. She set a powerful example for so many of the women who have followed her in Virginia politics.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D): “Janet dedicated her life to service and the people of Virginia, and her leadership and friendship touched so many.”
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D): “She was a valued partner during our administration, and that same ability to move difficult work forward later served Virginia well as chair of Senate Finance and Appropriations.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R): “Janet loved the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I deeply appreciated her willingness to work together.”
Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40): “Sen. Howell was a great fighter for women’s reproductive rights, economic equity, providing services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, and so many other important causes. She showed by example how to break glass ceilings and be an effective legislator.”
Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-18), who was elected to the Senate in 1991, the same year as Howell: “Her work touched the lives of countless Virginia families, and our commonwealth is stronger because of it.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34): “Janet served Northern Virginia with fierce determination, sharp intellect and unwavering integrity. She paved the way for generations of women leaders.”
Del. Patrick Hope (D-1): “She was a tireless advocate for expanding access to healthcare, improving the lives of people with disabilities, and standing up for those whose voices too often went unheard.”
Eight victories in 32nd Senate District
Howell represented the 32nd Senate District for the entirety of her political career, winning eight consecutive elections between 1991 and 2019.
She entered office in 1992 as the Senate’s large Democratic majority, which had been unchallenged since Reconstruction 120 years before, had declined to a slim 22-18 majority. From 1996 to 2000, the two parties each controlled 20 seats and operated under a power-sharing agreement.
Republicans held the Senate majority from 2000 until 2008, when Democrats regained it for four years. That was followed by another 20-20 split from 2012-16, a slight Republican majority from 2016-20 and a 22-18 Democratic majority for Howell’s remaining years in office.
When she first assumed office in January 1992, Arlington was carved into three Senate districts. Most of the county was represented by Democrat Edward Holland, with smaller portions held by Howell and Republican Bob Calhoun.
For the first two decades of her tenure, her district included a portion of Arlington while being primarily focused on a swath of Fairfax County including McLean, Great Falls and Reston.
After the 2000 federal census, under a General Assembly redistricting plan, Howell’s district was consolidated among Democratic strongholds in Fairfax County. The result was that she no longer represented any portions of Arlington.
Her 32nd District regained a portion of Arlington in redistricting that followed the 2010 federal census. After the 2011 election, Howell joined newly elected Sens. Barbara Favola and Adam Ebbin in representing Arlington in the upper house of the legislature.
Despite her district shifting over the years and her residency in Reston, Howell was a consistent vote-getter in Arlington elections.
She won significant majorities among her county constituents each time she was on the ballot in Arlington — 1991, 1995, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
During her tenure in the 40-member Senate, Howell was a close ally of Dick Saslaw, a Fairfax Democrat who rose to become Senate Majority Leader. Like Howell, Saslaw was a Democrat with moderate leanings and a willingness to work across the aisle when necessary.
In addition to the appropriations committee, Howell served on the committees on rules, privileges and elections, finance, education and health, and courts of justice. For the last 15 years in office, she was a Senate conferee on state budget bills, another post that allowed her to wield power behind the scenes.
At the start of her service, women held very few seats in the Virginia Senate. While the first two women were elected to the House of Delegates in 1923, it was not until 1979 that the first woman — Republican Eva Scott — was elected to the Senate.
Importance of role models
In 2019, Howell and her daughter-in-law Theresa Howell cowrote “Leading the Way: Women in Power,” a book aimed at middle-schoolers that detailed the lives of 50 historic female political and governmental figures on both sides of the aisle.
“Role models are so important,” Theresa Howell told the Sun Gazette at the time. “If girls can see it, they can believe it. They know they can become it.”
The co-authors purposely chose women from different ethnic backgrounds, geographical areas and points on the political spectrum.
“We wanted every little girl to be able to look at our book and find someone who looks like her,” Janet Howell told the Sun Gazette’s Brian Trompeter.
2018 journey aimed to bridge political divide
In 2018, Sen. Howell and her husband Hunt embarked on a 1,200-mile summertime journey across southside and southwest Virginia.
According to Sun Gazette coverage, the couple decided to make the fact-finding trip after reading “The Extremes of Virginia” by August Wallmeyer.
Martinsville, Hillsville, Farmville, Marion, Abingdon, Wise, Big Stone Gap, Grundy and Bristol were among stops during the trip, which took up most of July 2018.
“I think all of us would benefit from visiting different regions from our home districts, because I think we’ll get a broader view of the needs of the commonwealth,” she told the Sun Gazette at the time. “I think we’ll make better decisions.”
She encouraged her downstate colleagues, most of them Republicans, to do the same and spend more time connecting with Northern Virginia.
“It would be helpful if [downstate legislators] understood the resentment we feel when our money is going to that part of the state, and they’re not taxing themselves like we tax ourselves,” she said.
Howell began her upward trajectory in civic life as a PTA president and then serving three years as president of the Reston Community Association in the mid-1980s. Prior to winning election to the Senate, she served as a legislative assistant in the House of Delegates.
Howell’s electoral history in the 32nd Senate District:
- 1991: Howell 53%, Frederick Dyson 47%
- 1995: Howell 57%, Robert McDowell 43%
- 1999: Howell 58%, Whitney Abrams 42%
- 2001: Howell 57%, David Hunt 43%
- 2007: Howell 97%, write-ins 3%
- 2011: Howell 60%, Patrick Forrest 40%
- 2015: Howell 94%, write-ins 6%
- 2019: Howell 73%, Arthur Purves 26%
Howell continued with the 2019 race despite suffering a shattered ankle during a hike in the Adirondacks that summer. After blood tests during her recuperation revealed she had previously suffered a “silent heart attack,” the senator underwent quadruple-bypass surgery.
The health challenges that year slowed her down, but did not prevent Howell from scoring her largest margin of victory ever against Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance.
During the 2019 race, Purves acknowledged he was unlikely to unseat Howell, and offered praise for her lengthy tenure in office.
“I have a lot of disagreements with Sen. Howell,” Purves said then, but “we really have to give [elected officials] credit for their public service. I really admire that.”
Born May 7, 1944 in D.C., Howell, née Denison, earned a bachelor of arts degree in government from Oberlin College and a master of arts degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
She and her husband, Hunt Howell, had two sons, Eric and Brian.
Funeral arrangements and a full obituary are pending.
Emily Leayman contributed to coverage.
