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Janet Howell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Janet Howell
Howell in 2019
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 32nd district
In office
January 8, 1992 – January 10, 2024
Preceded byClive L. DuVal II
Succeeded bySuhas Subramanyam
Personal details
Born(1944-05-07)May 7, 1944
Washington, D.C., U.S.
DiedAugust 2, 2026(2026-08-02) (aged 82)
PartyDemocratic
Spouse
Hunt Howell
​
(m. 1966)​
Parent(s)Edward Fulton Denison
Elsie Lightbown
EducationOberlin College (B.A.)
University of Pennsylvania, (M.A.)
CommitteesFinance and Appropriations (Chair)
Education and Health
Local Government
Privileges and Elections
Rules

Janet Denison Howell (May 7, 1944 – August 2, 2026) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 32nd district in portions of Fairfax County and Arlington County in the Virginia Senate from 1992 to 2024.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Howell was born in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 1944.[1] She was born to Edward Fulton Denison and Elsie Lightbown. Her father was a prominent economist at the US Department of Commerce and the Brookings Institution, and fellow Oberlin alumnus.[3] Howell was molested at age 6.[4] She obtained a B.A. in government from Oberlin College and a M.A. in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.[2]

Career

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Prior to her political career, Howell worked as a public school teacher and legislative assistant in the Virginia House of Delegates.[5][6] She was chairman of the Fairfax County Social Services Board from 1979 to 1982, member of the Virginia State Board of Social Services from 1986 to 1991, member of the Reston Transportation Committee from 1986 to 1991, and president of the Reston Community Association from 1982 to 1985.[7][8]

Howell was elected to the Virginia Senate in the 1991 election to represent the 32nd district.[9][10] In 1998, Howell introduced a statewide version of Megan's Law.[11] The law created an online sex offender registry.[4] She sponsored legislation to require electronic toll payer E-ZPass compatible with Smart Tag.[12] In 2003, Howell sponsored legislation requiring clergy to become mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect.[13]

Following the Virginia Tech shooting, she led efforts to reform mental health laws. She also led reforms to family violence laws.[14] Howell was chair of the Privileges and Elections committee in 2010.[15] In response to a 2012 bill that required women seeking an abortion to undergo ultrasound imaging, Howell introduced a protest amendment requiring men to undergo a rectal exam and cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction drugs.[16] In 2015, Howell introduced legislation to repeal the ban on same-sex marriage from the Virginia constitution.[17]

She became chair of the Finance and Appropriations committee in 2019, the first woman to do so.[10] Howell and her daughter-in-law Theresa Howell co-wrote Leading the Way: Women in Power, a book about historic female political and governmental figures aimed at middle schoolers, in 2019.[18] The book's foreword was penned by Hillary Clinton.[19] In 2020, Howell sponsored legislation to expand mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] In 2022, she spearheaded legislation to allow absentee voting without requiring an excuse.[6]

Howell declined to seek re-election in the 2023 election after redistricting in 2021 placed her in the same district as Jennifer Boysko.[21] She retired from the Senate on January 10, 2024.[10] ARLnow described Howell as "a Democrat with moderate leanings".[2]

Howell died on August 2, 2026, at the age of 82.[2][22]

Electoral history

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Summary

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Virginia Senate, District 32: Results 1991 to 2019[23]
Year Democrat Votes % Republican Votes % Third party Party Votes %
1991 Janet Howell 21,597 52.5% Frederick Ted T. Dykes 19,519 47.4% Write-ins 51 0.1%
1995 Janet Howell 26,470 57.3% Robert M. McDowell 19,738 42.7% Write-ins 12 0.0%
1999 Janet Howell 25,966 58.2% Whitney Adams 18,615 41.7% Write-ins 28 0.1%
2003 Janet Howell 21,252 56.7% David M. Hunt 16,214 43.3% Write-ins 13 0.0%
2007 Janet Howell 28,089 97.2% no candidate Write-ins 818 2.8%
2011 Janet Howell 26,026 60.3% Patrick Forrest 17,122 39.6% Write-ins 48 0.1%
2015 Janet Howell 31,156 94.0% no candidate Write-ins 1,974 6.0%
2019 Janet Howell 48,581 73.5% Arthur Purves 17,376 26.3% Write-ins 127 0.2%

2011 election

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The Virginia General Assembly drew new legislative districts to reflect the 2010 US census. As chairman of the Senate committee on Privileges and Elections, Howell led the process to draw new Senate district boundaries.[24][25] The redrawn map drew accusations of gerrymandering from Republican politicians.[26][27] Howell announced her re-election campaign on June 1, 2011.[28]

Personal life

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Howell lived in Reston, Virginia.[2] She was married to Hunt Howell; the couple had two children.[2]

In 2019, Howell suffered a shattered ankle during a hike in the Adirondack Mountains. She underwent quadruple bypass surgery after blood tests during her recovery revealed that she had previously experienced a silent heart attack.[2]

References

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  1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McCaffrey, Scott (August 3, 2026). "State Sen. Janet Howell remembered as both power broker and trailblazer". ARLnow. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ Lambert, Bruce (October 24, 1992). "E. F. Denison, Economist, 76; Devised G.N.P." The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Twomey, Steve (May 15, 1999). "For Virginia's Must-See Web Site, the Jury Is Still Out". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  5. ↑ Robertson, Thomas (August 3, 2026). "Former Va. State Sen. Janet Howell, who represented Fairfax County, dies at 82". WTOP News. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Government/Politics: Janet Howell". Virginia Business. August 30, 2022. Archived from the original on October 17, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Hall, Charles W. (October 30, 1991). "FOUR NEWCOMERS WITH NO RECORD TO RUN AGAINST". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Leayman, Emily (August 3, 2026). "Janet Howell, longtime former state senator in Fairfax County, dies at 82". FFXnow. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  11. ↑ "VERSION OF 'MEGAN'S LAW' PROPOSED". The Washington Post. February 9, 1998. Archived from the original on August 6, 2026. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ Seymour, Liz (October 25, 2003). "A Refined Fight in Fairfax Senate Race". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ Boorstein, Michelle (December 26, 2018). "Proposed laws in D.C. and Va. would require clergy to report sexual abuse". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ Fields, Odyssey (August 3, 2026). "Former Virginia Sen. Janet Howell dies at 82". DC News Now. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Janet Howell". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ Cella, Matthew (February 5, 2012). "IN OTHER WORDS: Introducing the Cialis amendment". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ Portnoy, Jenna (January 12, 2015). "Same-sex marriage is legal in Virginia, but maneuvering rages on in Richmond". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  18. ↑ Daqqa, Hanan (November 7, 2019). "Senator Janet Howell lives her legacy through a children's book". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  19. ↑ Trompeter, Brian (November 15, 2019). "Senator, daughter-in-law author book honoring exemplary women". Inside NoVA. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  20. ↑ Schneider, Gregory S. (August 28, 2020). "Virginia General Assembly votes to expand access to absentee voting, create ballot drop boxes". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  21. ↑ Woolsey, Angela (March 1, 2023). "Janet Howell, longtime senator for Fairfax County, won't seek reelection". FFXnow. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Virginia state Sen. Janet Howell, first woman to co-chair Senate Finance Committee, dead at 82". WTVR. August 3, 2026. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ "State Senate District 32 results". Commonwealth of Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  24. ↑ Helderman, Rosalind S. (May 24, 2011). "DOJ requests interviews with redistricting legislators". Virginia Politics. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ Geiger, Jacob (March 29, 2011). "Sen. Thomas Norment now says he opposes bipartisan redistricting". Politifact Virginia. 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.
  28. ↑ McCaffrey, Scott; Konheim, Orrin (June 3, 2011). "In Re-Election Kickoff, Howell Says She Delivers for Region". Sun Gazette. Springfield, Va. 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.[permanent dead link]
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