Introduction
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. She still represented the 32nd district in Fairfax County as of June 2011.
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.
Mrs. 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 (VA) 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.
Mrs. Howell reported financial assests in 2010 worth more than $US1.48 million and possibly more than
$6 million.
Electoral history
Summary
| 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 | 17,122 | 40% | |||||||
| 2015 | Janet Howell | 31,156 | 94% | no candidate | Write-ins | 1,974 | 6% |
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.