University of Virginia Library

Kevin Mannix

Howell: Neo-Populist Novelty

First it was called the Henry
Howell phenomenon. Virginia's
neo-populist state senator from
Norfolk was a novelty. The
conservative Old Guard smiled
bemusedly as Henry launched
his attacks on the "big boys"
such as the utilities and the
State Corporation Commission.

The State Corporation
Commission wasn't regulating
the utilities, Henry said, but his
fellow legislators smiled and
did nothing.

So Henry took the utilities
to court; he won some and lost
some in his fight to help the
consumer. Henry spoke out in
behalf of the repressed black
citizens of Virginia when no
one else seemed to care.

At the same time, Henry
Howell gained the allegiance of
farmers and working people via
his populist approach to
government. Henry has been
catching on, as a personality as
well as a politician.

His appeal is widespread.
McGovern supporters support
Henry because of his activist
view of government and his
concern for the rights of
citizens. Labor likes Henry
because he has always
supported the causes of the
working man. At the same
time, Wallace supporters like
Henry because he is fighting
the establishment "big boys."

In 1971 the Democratic
Party closed its doors to Henry
Howell. It refused to hold a
primary to nominate a
successor to the late
Lieutenant Governor Sargent
Reynolds. Since the Democrats
went the convention route,
which Henry thought could
easily be dominated by his
arch-foes, the conservative Old
Guard, Henry went the
Independent route.

In a three-way race, Henry
Howell was elected Lieutenant
Governor. Now Lt. Gov.
Howell is running for Governor
(the election is next
November) and therein lies a
dilemma.

It is progressive state
Democrats who face the
dilemma. At the state
Democratic Party convention
last June, a new leadership was
elected. Of the five state party
officers and National
Committeemen elected by the
convention, two were women,
and black, and one was under
thirty. The conservatives
claimed they were left out as a
moderate-liberal, progressive
leadership was installed.

Now that the Democratic
Party is ready for Henry
Howell, it appears that Henry
is not quite ready to return to
the Democratic fold. He seems
to think he has a better chance
of winning the governorship as
an independent, although he
won't make a final decision
until March.

Thus, the new leaders of the
Democratic Party and their
supporters may find themselves
faced with the prospect of
having to nominate someone to
run against the man they
strongly prefer. The situation is
particularly difficult for
McGovern supporters who
criss-crossed the state calling
for Democratic unity in the
last election.

However, the dilemma may
disappear. Henry is a pragmatic
politician. If he can be
convinced that he has more to
gain than lose by running as a
Democrat, he will so run.

A lot depends on who else is
running. If conservative former
Governor Mills Godwin runs
as an independent – and it
appears he will – Henry might
best run as a Democrat. There
are a lot of moderate
Democrats who will support
the party's nominee over
almost anyone else. Godwin
may corner the conservative
vote, but by running as a
Democrat Henry may garner
some moderate votes while
holding on to his liberal and
populist support.

Usually there are a lot more
independents willing to vote
for a Democrat than there are
Democrats willing to support
an independent. If the
situation is unusual, a poll
commissioned by Howell ought
to point it out.

Taken separately, there are
more conservative votes than
moderate votes or liberal votes
in Virginia. With the
expectation that Godwin
and/or a Republican nominee
will garner those conservative
votes, Henry's task will be to
capture moderate and liberal
votes together.

Yet Henry Howell is
concerned that running as a
Democrat will hurt him in two
ways. First, he feels that the
Democratic Party has been
weakening over the past
twenty years, and he doesn't
want to be tainted with the
image of a "loser". Second,
Henry has his own
"organization" throughout the
state and he is worried that if
he runs as a Democrat his own
people might sit back while
Democratic politicos ruin his
candidacy on the local level.

These are legitimate
concerns. The basic question is
whether running as a Democrat
has more disadvantages than
advantages.

One question which will
really be burning the guts of
true Democrats who like Henry
Howell is: which is more
important, the man or the
party? In the short run it might
be easier to support Henry in
whatever fashion will best get
him elected.

But what about the long
run? Once Henry has had his
one term as Governor (he
cannot succeed himself) who
will carry on the fight for
progressive and responsive
government in Virginia? If the
liberals defect from the
Democratic Party to support
an Independent Howell, they
may be handing the Party back
to conservative domination.

There are many questions,
but few answers at this time. It
will be an interesting year in
Virginia politics.