William J. Howell

William James Howell (born May 8, 1943) is an American attorney and former politician from Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 28th district in the House of Delegates from 1992 until 2018, and served as Speaker of the House of Delegates from 2003 to 2018.

Howell presided over the House of Delegates during a period of Republican dominance in the chamber. During his tenure, he acquired a reputation as a political pragmatist, and faced internal criticism from Republican delegates affiliated with the Tea Party movement. He is also noted for heading Virginia's controversial redistricting efforts following the 2010 census and firmly opposing efforts to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Early life and education William James Howell was born on May 8, 1943, in Washington, D.C., the second of four children of William Fayette Howell and the former Eileen Hill. His father, an employee of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, joined the World Bank in 1946, where he served in a number of executive positions until his death in 1964.

His mother, a native of England and daughter of trade unionist and academic Levi Hill, accompanied her father on a lecture tour of the United States, where she met her future husband. About a year after Howell's birth, the family moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he grew up. Howell was raised in a civically active family and described both of his parents as "New Deal Democrats." Citing a need to discover his own political philosophy while at college, he spent a summer reading different authors from across the ideological spectrum and was eventually influenced by the conservative ideas of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law and was admitted to the state bar in 1967.

Career Legal career and community involvement

House of Delegates service and speakership

In 1987, three-term incumbent Republican delegate Thomas M. Moncure Jr. announced that he would not be seeking reelection. Howell ran for the open seat at the urging of state senator John Chichester and easily won the three-way race against Democrat Thomas Savage and Independent Al Fagan.

In 2017, Howell announced that he would not seek reelection, retiring at the end of his term.

Later career He also serves as chairman of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. After leaving office, he joined McGuireWoods Consulting in 2018.

Personal life Howell and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine at Fredericksburg's Slaughter Pen Farm Historic Site in 2013 Howell married Cecelia Joy "Cessie" Stump in 1966. They live in Falmouth in Stafford County, Virginia. The couple had two sons, William Fayette Howell, II and Leland Jack Howell. The couple has seven grandchildren. Howell is a deeply religious Baptist, and, in the 1990s, along with Bob McDonnell, Randy Forbes, and one other delegate, he founded a prayer group and Bible study that meets weekly when the Virginia General Assembly is in session.

Electoral history

Date Election Candidate Party Votes % Virginia House of Delegates, 53rd district Nov 3, 1987 General William J. Howell Republican 7,598 48.51 Thomas Y. Savage Democratic 5,752 36.72 M. Alfred Fagan Independent 2,313 14.77 Write Ins 0 0.00 Tom Moncure did not seek reelection; seat stayed Republican Nov 7, 1989 General William J. Howell Republican 12,964 99.86 Write Ins 18 0.14 Virginia House of Delegates, 28th district Nov 5, 1991 General William J. Howell Republican 7,805 75.24 Marcia J. Preston Democratic 2,568 24.76 Write Ins 0 0.00 Clinton Miller redistricted to 26th district; seat stayed Republican Nov 2, 1993 General William J. Howell Republican 11,904 73.72 Marcia J. Preston Democratic 3,240 20.07 David E. O'Keeffe Independent 1,002 6.21 Write Ins 1 0.01 Nov 7, 1995 General William J. Howell Republican 10,518 69.41 M. Alicia Knight Democratic 4,633 30.57 Write Ins 2 0.01 Nov 4, 1997 General William J. Howell Republican 15,930 98.24 Write Ins 286 1.76 Nov 2, 1999 General William J. Howell Republican 11,587 80.08 Garrett T. Baker Independent 2,839 19.62 Write Ins 44 0.30 Nov 6, 2001 General William J. Howell Republican 10,964 63.83 Noreen C. Crowley Democratic 6,196 36.07 Write Ins 17 0.10 Nov 4, 2003 General William J. Howell Republican 7,373 96.49 Write Ins 268 3.51 Nov 8, 2005 General William J. Howell Republican 14,807 94.64 Write Ins 838 5.36 Nov 6, 2007 General William J. Howell Republican 8,726 61.70 Clyde W. Matthews Democratic 4,926 34.83Craig E. Ennis Independent Greens 457 3.23 Write Ins 33 0.23 Nov 3, 2009 General William J. Howell Republican 14,909 74.82Craig E. Ennis Independent Greens 4,874 24.46 Write Ins 143 0.71 Nov 8, 2011 General William J. Howell Republican 9,350 91.77 Write Ins 838 8.22 Nov 5, 2013 General William J. Howell Republican 14,998 90.77 Write Ins 1,525 9.23 Nov 3, 2015 General William J. Howell Republican 8,060 60.26 Kandy A. Hilliard Democratic 5,272 39.41 Write Ins 44 0.33