By Brian Trompeter
After 32 years in the state Senate, Janet Howell (D-Reston-Arlington) is ready to bring her career to a close.
“We have made great progress, yet much more must be done,” Howell said in a Feb. 28 statement. “Throughout my time in the Senate my husband, Hunt, has supported me in every way. Now we want more time together, with a lot of travel.”
Howell, who will turn 79 in May, said age was the main reason she would not seek another four-year term. The recent redistricting also put her and state Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon-Loudoun) in the same district, which would have complicated matters before the November election.
Much has changed since Howell joined the state Senate in 1992. She was only one of four female senators then; that figure now stands at 10.
The power dynamic since then has shifted for the better, Howell said. When she arrived, “the people in charge were much more autocratic than the current committee chairs,” she said. “Now there’s a lot more dialogue. I think you get more wisdom when you have more opinions.”
Virginia also has made progress on funding transportation improvements and instituted a system for prioritizing projects. Previously, whoever had the most clout determined which projects got built, Howell said.
One thing that hasn’t changed since she arrived: Senators make only $18,000 per year.
“Everybody’s afraid that it will be a campaign issue if you make it a reasonable amount,” she said.
The partisan political divide has become sharper in recent years, Howell said.
“I have spent a lot of time stopping nonsense,” she said, citing attempts to limit women’s reproductive freedom and channel more money into private education.
Republican Glenn Youngkin is the ninth governor with whom Howell has worked as a senator.
“With one exception, all had very positive traits,” she said. “Even when we disagreed, we could work together.”
(Howell would not name the lone malefactor, but the GazetteLeader guessed his identity before she told us off the record.)
Howell joins several veteran legislators who will not seek re-election this year, including Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Springfield) and Dels. Kathleen Murphy (D-McLean-Great Falls-Loudoun) and Kenneth Plum (D-Reston).
Howell counts Saslaw and Plum among the giants with whom she has worked. Other standout General Assembly members in her mind are Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment Jr. (R) and the late Democratic Sens. Joseph Gartlan Jr. and Hunter Andrews.
Born in Washington, D.C., Howell earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in 1966 and a master’s in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968.
She wanted to be a foreign-service officer and took the test, but the U.S. State Department said married women could not apply. “I didn’t even question that,” Howell said.
Howell taught in the Philadelphia school district from 1968 to 1969. She and her husband moved to Reston in 1974 for his work as an economist with the Inter-American Development Bank.
Before holding elected office, Howell was president of her children’s PTAs from elementary through high school. She also chaired the Fairfax County Social Services Board and State Board of Social Services, served on the Reston Transportation Committee, was president of the Reston Community Association and worked as a legislative assistant to Del. Plum.
When she asked Plum how he would like her to screen visitors, he replied, “If I’m in my office, just show them in.”
“It was an amazing way of approaching people,” Howell recalled.
She first was elected to the state Senate in 1991, succeeding the late Clive DuVal II. Howell ran for office because she thought the state government needed to do more regarding education and foster children. She then turned her focus to other things needing improvement, but learned that progress typically comes slowly in the General Assembly.
“You have to be satisfied with incremental change,” she said. “Major change is highly unlikely.”
Howell now chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, a name to which she had added “appropriations” to denote the scope of its responsibilities. State legislators still are in a budget impasse this year.
“We need to invest in our people rather than giving tax refunds,” she said.
Howell has focused largely on the budget during recent sessions. She counts among key victories over the decades her bills that rewrote state code regarding family violence and ensured the privacy of medical patients’ genetic information.
Del. Rip Sullivan (D-McLean-Arlington) said Howell’s non-unexpected retirement is “still jarring”and an “enormous loss for our commonwealth.”
“We will miss her steady, determined, thoughtful and impactful leadership in the General Assembly,” Sullivan said. “She is an historic figure in Virginia politics and government, and she has left an indelible mark on Virginia. We are all better off for her service, and I am grateful to have had the honor to serve with Janet, who is an inspiration, mentor and dear friend.”
Howell and her husband plan to spend more time with their family and do some serious globetrotting. The couple will visit Japan later this year and later hope to explore countries in southern South America. The couple formerly lived in Mexico City and said they find beach vacations in Mexico just as affordable as domestic jaunts.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) said he was “very sad” about Howell’s pending departure.
“She has been a champion for Fairfax County and her constituents for decades and her service has made a difference in people lives,” McKay said. “Her shoes will be impossible to fill. I salute her for all she has accomplished and thank her for her exceptional record of public service.”
State Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington-McLean-Loudoun) said Howell had served as a role model to women in the General Assembly.
“Sen. Howell has helped many female lawmakers effectively navigate a male-dominated institution,” Favola said. “She is a friend and mentor, and I will miss her wise counsel. Sen. Howell has served her constituents and the commonwealth extraordinarily well. I wish her the very best in her retirement.”
State Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax-Vienna) lauded Howell’s service, especially during the pandemic.
“Janet Howell has been an icon in the state Senate for 32 years and especially the last four years as the no-nonsense chairman of the Finance Committee,” Petersen said. “She calmly directed our financial policy during the wild swings of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that we emerged unscathed is largely due to her leadership.”
