Janet Howell

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]

Janet Howell
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 32nd district
In office January 8, 1992 – January 10, 2024
Preceded by	Clive DuVal II
Succeeded by	Jennifer Boysko (Redistricting)
Personal details
Born	(1944-05-07) May 7, 1944 (age 81) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Alfred Hunt Howell (1966-present)
Residence	Fairfax County, Virginia
Alma mater	Oberlin College (B.A., 1966) University of Pennsylvania, (M.A., 1968)
Committees	Finance and Appropriations (Chair) Education and Health Local Government Privileges and Elections Rules
[1][2][3][4][5]

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 1965 Voting Rights Act, she will acquire some reliably Democrat voting precincts and shed others that lean Republican.^{[13][14][15][16]}