{{Short description|American politician and activist}} '''Carla Howell''' (born 1955) is an American politician, small government advocate and activist. She was the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts candidate for Massachusetts State Auditor in 1998, U.S. Senate in 2000, and Governor in 2002. She then served in multiple leadership positions in the U.S. Libertarian Party. She has also organized tax-cut initiative ballot measures in Massachusetts and worked for the Libertarian National Committee.

== Early life and education == Howell is the daughter of Carla (Winsor) Howell and Charles Howell, the third of their five children.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002">{{cite news |last1=Schweitzer |first1=Sarah |title=For Howell, Libertarian View Hits Home |work=Boston Globe |date=18 Oct 2002 |page=A1}}</ref> She is a great-granddaughter of William Eustis Russell, a former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> Her father worked as a business executive and her mother engaged in volunteer work in the community.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> As a result of her father's work, the family moved from Massachusetts, and Howell attended high school in Detroit and Pittsburgh, graduating from Fox Chapel High School in Pittsburgh at age 16.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/>

Howell attended Bethany College in West Virginia for mathematics and computer science, and after graduating, became a systems engineer at Westinghouse Electric.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> In 1981, she began work at Computervision and became the head of an engineering division in 1984.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> After a decade of engineering work, she then became a consultant in the Boston area for the high-tech and health care industry.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/>

Howell earned her MBA from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.carlahowell.org/about.html |title=''Carla Howell'' "about page" |access-date=2008-10-01 |archive-date=2008-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120235340/http://www.carlahowell.org/about.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Political career== In 1994, Howell joined the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts<ref>{{cite news |title=Libertarian to Run Against Kennedy for Seat in Senate |work=Boston Globe |date=6 November 1999}}</ref> and she was elected chair of the state party in 1997.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> In 1998, she ran for Massachusetts State Auditor on the Libertarian Party ticket,<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> and was endorsed by the ''Boston Herald''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Editorial |title=Endorsement; Carla Howell for auditor |work=Boston Herald |date=29 Oct 1998}}</ref> She received 102,198 votes, 5.3 percent of the total,<ref name="MacQuarrie 2000">{{cite news |last1=MacQuarrie |first1=Brian |title=Quiet Libertarian Foe to Kennedy Wins Backers |work=Boston Globe |date=1 Oct 2000 |page=A1}}</ref> which according to the ''Associated Press'', "guarantee[d] the party's official status."<ref name="AP 2000"/>

In 2000, Howell was the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts against Edward M. Kennedy.<ref name="MacQuarrie 2000"/><ref name="AP 2000">{{cite news |title=Libertarian likely to be Kennedy's major foe |work=Telegram & Gazette |agency=Associated Press |date=17 May 2000}}</ref><ref name="Hill 2004"/> She ran with a "Small government is beautiful" campaign slogan,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Cathy |title=Are Libertarian Ideas Catching On? |work=Boston Globe |date=29 October 2000}}</ref><ref name="Luttrell 2002">{{cite news |last1=Luttrell |first1=Martin |title=Howell's message is 'small is beautiful' |work=Telegram & Gazette |date=11 October 2002}}</ref> and by October, had raised almost $700,000, while the Republican candidate had raised about $20,000.<ref name="MacQuarrie 2000" /> She placed third, with more than 308,000 votes, which was 12 percent of the total and one percent behind the Republican candidate.<ref name="Hill 2004">{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Steven |title=Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics |date=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781135954741 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ukt9JA6pLmQC&q=Carla%20Howell |access-date=2 August 2022}}</ref><ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/><ref name="Klein 2001">{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=Rick |title=Libertarians Talk Boldly - Of Winning; Senate Race Showing Buoys Convention |work=Boston Globe |date=25 February 2001}}</ref><ref name="TG 2002"/> In 2001, while reporting on the Massachusetts Libertarian Party convention, Rick Klein of the ''Boston Globe'' wrote the 2000 election "made Howell the state party's standard-bearer - and something of a hero to Bay State Libertarians" and reported she received standing ovations before and after her speech to the attendees.<ref name="Klein 2001"/>

In 2002, Howell was the Libertarian candidate for Massachusetts Governor.<ref name="Schweitzer 2002" /><ref name="TG 2002">{{cite news |title=Libertarians pick Howell for governor |work=Telegram & Gazette |date=7 April 2002}}</ref> At the time of her campaign, she was the chair of the Committee For Small Government.<ref name="TG 2002"/> Her campaign platform included a plan to reduce the state budget by half, support for gun rights, and a repeal of the state income tax.<ref name="Mehren 2002">{{cite news |last1=Mehren |first1=Elizabeth |title=The Nation; Voters Get Chance to Take 'Tax' Out of 'Taxachusetts'; Ballot: Initiative would repeal the state's levy on income. It isn't expected to pass, but foes warn if it does it will devastate government and schools |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 September 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Libertarian Seeks Governor's Post |work=Boston Globe |date=30 Jan 2002}}</ref><ref name="TG 2002"/><ref name="Echegaray 2002">{{cite news |last1=Echegaray |first1=Chris |title=Howell would cut government and OK guns |work=Telegram & Gazette |date=4 October 2002}}</ref> She was excluded along with other minor candidates from a gubernatorial candidate debate, and their requests for an injunction were denied.<ref name="Echegaray 2002"/> She received 23,044 votes, more than 1 percent of the total.<ref name="Sutner 2007">{{cite news |last1=Sutner |first1=Shaun |title=Professor eyes presidency; WPI's George Phillies a Libertarian candidate |work=Telegram & Gazette |date=22 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="DeMarco 2003">{{cite news |last1=DeMarco |first1=Peter |title=Praise, Concern Expressed for Party; Libertarian Ranks Down at Convention |work=Boston Globe |date=13 April 2003}}</ref>

By 2012, Howell was the executive director of the U.S. Libertarian Party.<ref name="DeBonis 2012">{{cite news |last1=DeBonis |first1=Mike |title=Libertarians' election victory: Ballot access |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=11 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="Mistler 2012">{{cite news |last1=Mistler |first1=Steve |title=Taking the liberty vote?: Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson appeals to some fiscal conservatives and supporters of limited government, and may draw some voters from Mitt Romney |work=Portland Press Herald |date=19 August 2012}}</ref> In 2016, she worked as the political director for the national party.<ref>{{cite news |title=Libertarian Convention |work=NPR |date=May 29, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Watkins 2016">{{cite news |last1=Watkins |first1=Eli |title=What is Libertarianism? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/libertarianism-libertarian-party/index.html |access-date=2 August 2022 |work=CNN |date=June 22, 2016}}</ref>

She was a staff member in the Libertarian National Committee from December 2011 until June 2017.<ref>[http://www.lp.org/staff Libertarian National Committee staff listing on national Libertarian Party website]</ref>

== Ballot initiatives == Howell spearheaded initiatives to repeal the Massachusetts state personal income tax in 2002<ref name="Gedan 2002">{{cite news |last1=Gedan |first1=Benjamin |title=On Nov. 5, A $9 Billion Question If Passed, Would Bar State Taxes |work=Boston Globe |date=12 August 2002}}</ref> and 2008.<ref name="Murphy 2009">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Matt |title=Taxes, tolls among key issues for ballot petitioners |work=Sentinel & Enterprise |date=6 August 2009}}</ref> In 2002, she sponsored 2002 Statewide Ballot Question 1, an initiative petition to end the income tax in Massachusetts.<ref name="Luttrell 2002"/><ref>[http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ele02/elebq02/bq021.htm ''Massachusetts Secretary of state'' "2002 Ballot Question 1"]</ref> The measure received 45% of the vote, which Peter DeMarco, writing for the ''Boston Globe'', described as "eye-popping".<ref name="DeMarco 2003"/>

In 2007, Howell and co-chair Michael Cloud, re-established the Committee For Small Government. The Committee obtained enough petition signatures to put the issue on the ballot<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/us/28ballot.html?bl&ex=1222747200&en=486a776f9f184e9c&ei=5087%0A ''New York Times'' "Massachusetts Proposal Would Repeal Income Tax"]</ref> as Statewide Ballot Question 1.<ref>[http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepip08/pip081.htm ''Mass Secretary of State'' "2008 Ballot Question 1"]</ref> The 2008 initiative differed from the 2002 initiative in that it provided a one-year transition period with a tax rate of 2.65% before the tax rate would drop to zero. This measure received a higher vote total than in 2002, but lost with 30% of the vote.

In 2010, Howell filed four petitions to create ballot measures to reduce sales taxes, and Republican Christy Mihos, who was running for Massachusetts governor at the time, also sponsored the initiatives.<ref name="Murphy 2009"/> Howell headed the Alliance to Roll Back Taxes, sponsor of a ballot initiative to cut the Massachusetts sales tax from 6.25% to 3.0%, which was on November 2, 2010, ballot as Question 3.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masslpa.org/content/ballot-initiative-filed-roll-back-sales-tax |title=Ballot Initiative Filed to Roll Back the Sales Tax &#124; MassLPA |accessdate=2009-09-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613012514/http://masslpa.org/content/ballot-initiative-filed-roll-back-sales-tax |archivedate=2010-06-13 }}</ref> Her group collected and submitted 74,131 approved voter signatures in the fall of 2009, and another 14,023 signatures in the spring-summer of 2010 to qualify the measure. The measure reached as high as 56% in the polls but was unsuccessful.

==See also== * 2008 Massachusetts Question 1 * Tax revolt, political struggle to repeal, limit, or roll back a government-imposed tax * Tax resistance

==References== <references />

==External links== * [http://www.carlahowell.org/ Carla Howell official web site] * Affiliations: ** [https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/117746/sneak-preview-of-libertarian-songs audio interview on All Rise] ** [http://www.rollbacktaxes.org/ Alliance to Roll Back Taxes ballot initiative website] ** [http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/ Committee For Small Government ballot initiative website] ** [http://www.centerforsmallgovernment.com/ The Center for Small Government] ** [http://www.lp.org/ US Libertarian Party web site] * [http://www.freetalklive.com/files/howell.mp3 Downloadable audio interview] with Free Talk Live * {{C-SPAN|84687}}

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Carla}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American businesswomen Category:Babson College alumni Category:Massachusetts Libertarians Category:Women in Massachusetts politics Category:21st-century American women