William James Howell (born May 8, 1943) is an American politician from the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. He represented Virginia's 28th House of Delegates district from 1992 until 2018 and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

from 2003 to 2018. He also serves as chairman of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Presiding over the House during a period of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

dominance in that chamber, Howell has been applauded by many in and out of his party as a pragmatic leader but is also notable 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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, 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 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

, joined the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

in 1946, where he served in a number of executive positions until his death in 1964. His mother, a native of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and daughter of trade unionist and academic

Levi Hill Levi Hill (26 February 1816 − 9 February 1865) was an American minister in upstate New York who claimed in 1851 that he had invented a color photographic process. Borrowing terms previously introduced in France, Hill called his process " ...

, accompanied her father on a lecture tour of the United States, where she met her future husband.http://www.co-opliving.com/coopliving/issues/2012/January%202012/cover%20story.htm About a year after Howell's birth, the family moved to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, where he grew up. After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1960, he studied business administration at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

, where his classmates included Robert S. Jepson, Jr. and Leslie M. Baker, Jr. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law and was admitted to the

state bar A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent the attorneys practicing law in a particular U.S. state. Their functions differ from state to state, but often include administration of the state bar examination fo ...

in 1967. 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.

Career

Legal career and community involvement

House of Delegates service and speakership

Speaker Bill Howell opens session at Virginia House of Delegates

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 that week,

Kirk Cox Marvin Kirkland Cox (born August 17, 1957) is an American retired politician and educator. A Republican and a former high school teacher, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1990 to 2022, representing the 66th District. From 2018 to ...

, who had served under Howell as the House Majority Leader since 2010, was unanimously elected by the General Assembly House Republican Caucus as their choice for the next speaker.

Personal life

Senator Tim Kaine Talking with Speaker Bill Howell

Howell married Cecelia Joy "Cessie" Stump in 1966. They live in Falmouth in

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest- ...

. The couple had two sons, William Fayette Howell, II and Leland Jack Howell. The couple has seven grandchildren as well. Howell is a deeply religious

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, and, in the 1990s, along with

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convic ...

Randy Forbes James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017. Prior to joining the United States Congress, he was a member of the Virgin ...

, and one other delegate, he founded a prayer group and Bible study that meets weekly when the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

is in session.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, William J. 1943 births Living people People from Washington, D.C. People from Falmouth, Virginia University of Richmond alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates 21st-century American politicians People from Alexandria, Virginia McGuireWoods people