Profile: Janet Howell, 32nd District State Senate Candidate

At a Glance

• Born: Washington, D.C.
• Education: bachelor's degree from Oberlin College; master's degree from University of Pennsylvania
• Family: married; two grown sons; two granddaughters
• Occupation: Holds no job outside of public office
• Public office: State Senator since 1992

When Janet Howell first ran for state Senate in 1992, she had her doubters. People were skeptical whether a woman could fundraise, appeal to voters and maintain a Senate seat.

But she knew she had to try anyway. As a community activist for more than a decade leading up to her first election, she found herself having to approach politicians over and over again to get what she wanted done. Then Del. Ken Plum (D-36th District) hired her as a legislative assistant, which brought her down to Richmond to see the process up close.

"It was just a natural outlet for all of my interests and I could really make a difference. There was an open seat and I ran for it," the 67-year-old said. She became the sixth woman elected to the Virginia Senate.

She has held the seat ever since, and says she has never had any desire to run for statewide office, mostly because she thinks politicians end up compromising their principles to reach the next step on the political ladder, something she does not plan to do. She is running for re-election .

"I'm not done yet. There are so many things I want to accomplish for Virginia and our families," she said.

While her opponent touts his newcomer status, she does the same with her 20 years experience. She likes the clout she now has as a high-ranking member of the Finance Committee, citing her position as a strong one to help bring change to Virginia and her district.

"My goals haven't changed, but my ability to impact the results has," Howell said. "Twenty years of seniority and experience really helps. Right now I'm a Senate budget negotiator, and that means I get to set the priorities in the budget. In reality, that's where the rubber really hits the road."

She is able to work as a state Senator full time, which she said has allowed her to commit to multi-year endeavors. She pointed to her continued work on family violence, mental health laws, and her latest long-term project, autism. She said she's not done with her work on any of them, and she's in a better position than ever to work out better laws regarding all of them.

Her priorities lie in job creation, transportation and education, and she said she hears constituents say their priorities are the same.

"They are focusing on having a good life for their families and their children. And that encompasses a lot of different issues," she said. "It's education, it's job security, it's having time to spend with their families and not spend in traffic."

As for Dulles Rail, she will concede there have been problems and more work needs to be done to make the project run more smoothly and less costly. But she said her opponent's outcry over possible $17 tolls is unnecessary.

"People talking about $17 tolls are fear-mongering. That number is a possibility 30 years from now," she said. "What we're working on now is keeping the cost down so the tolls can stay down."

She said she is asking the governor put forth at least $150 million of state funding to help keep the cost and the tolls down, the federal government to come in and do its share, too.

To be able to continue working on Dulles Rail, Howell first needs to be re-elected Nov. 8. And she hopes the public has appreciated her dedication over the last 20 years.

"I've been very fortunate in my life and I've just wanted to give back," she said. "I love this job. I just really love it."