# Carla Howell

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{{Short description|American politician and activist}}
'''Carla Howell''' (born 1955) is an American politician, [small government](/source/small_government) advocate and activist. She was the [Libertarian Party of Massachusetts](/source/Libertarian_Party_of_Massachusetts) candidate for [Massachusetts State Auditor](/source/Massachusetts_State_Auditor) in 1998, [U.S. Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) in 2000, and [Governor](/source/Massachusetts_Governor) in 2002. She then served in multiple leadership positions in the [U.S. Libertarian Party](/source/Libertarian_Party_(United_States)). She has also organized tax-cut initiative [ballot measures](/source/ballot_measures) in Massachusetts and worked for the [Libertarian National Committee](/source/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](/source/Boston_Globe) |date=18 Oct 2002 |page=A1}}</ref> She is a great-granddaughter of [William Eustis Russell](/source/William_Eustis_Russell), a former [Governor of the Commonwealth](/source/Governor_of_Massachusetts) of [Massachusetts](/source/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](/source/mathematics) and [computer science](/source/computer_science), and after graduating, became a systems engineer at [Westinghouse Electric](/source/Westinghouse_Electric).<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> In 1981, she began work at [Computervision](/source/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](/source/MBA) from [Babson College](/source/Babson_College) in [Wellesley, Massachusetts](/source/Wellesley%2C_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](/source/Libertarian_Party_of_Massachusetts)<ref>{{cite news |title=Libertarian to Run Against Kennedy for Seat in Senate |work=[Boston Globe](/source/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](/source/Massachusetts_State_Auditor) on the Libertarian Party ticket,<ref name="Schweitzer 2002"/> and was endorsed by the ''[Boston Herald](/source/Boston_Herald)''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Editorial |title=Endorsement; Carla Howell for auditor |work=[Boston Herald](/source/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](/source/Boston_Globe) |date=1 Oct 2000 |page=A1}}</ref> which according to the ''[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press)'', "guarantee[d] the party's official status."<ref name="AP 2000"/>

In 2000, Howell was the Libertarian candidate for [U.S. Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) in Massachusetts against [Edward M. Kennedy](/source/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](/source/Telegram_%26_Gazette) |agency=[Associated Press](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Telegram_%26_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](/source/Taylor_%26_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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Massachusetts_Governor).<ref name="Schweitzer 2002" /><ref name="TG 2002">{{cite news |title=Libertarians pick Howell for governor |work=[Telegram & Gazette](/source/Telegram_%26_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](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=29 September 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Libertarian Seeks Governor's Post |work=[Boston Globe](/source/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](/source/Telegram_%26_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](/source/Telegram_%26_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](/source/Boston_Globe) |date=13 April 2003}}</ref>

By 2012, Howell was the executive director of the [U.S. Libertarian Party](/source/Libertarian_Party_(United_States)).<ref name="DeBonis 2012">{{cite news |last1=DeBonis |first1=Mike |title=Libertarians' election victory: Ballot access |newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/CNN) |date=June 22, 2016}}</ref>

She was a staff member in the [Libertarian National Committee](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Sentinel_%26_Enterprise) |date=6 August 2009}}</ref> In 2002, she sponsored 2002 Statewide Ballot Question 1, an [initiative petition](/source/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States) to end the [income tax](/source/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](/source/Boston_Globe)'', described as "eye-popping".<ref name="DeMarco 2003"/>

In 2007, Howell and co-chair [Michael Cloud](/source/Michael_Cloud_(Massachusetts_politician)), 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](/source/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](/source/2008_Massachusetts_Question_1)
* [Tax revolt](/source/Tax_revolt), political struggle to repeal, limit, or roll back a government-imposed tax
* [Tax resistance](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carla Howell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Howell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Howell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.