Donna Howard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the48th district | |
| Assumed office March 2, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Todd Baxter |
| Chair of the Texas House Women's Health Caucus | |
| Assumed office January 24, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jessica Farrar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1951-10-25)October 25, 1951 (age 74) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Derek Howard |
| Residence | Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Community advocate Critical care nurse |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Campaign website |
Donna Smelser Howard (born October 25, 1951) is aDemocratic member of theTexas House of Representatives, representing the48th District since her election in 2006. She currently serves as vice chair of the House Administration Committee and also serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Higher Education Committee, and the Appropriations Sub-Committees on Article III and on Budget Transparency and Reform.
Howard was born inAustin, Texas. She graduated fromReagan High School in Austin before moving on to theUniversity of Texas at Austin, where she earned aB.A. in Nursing in 1974 and anM.A. in Health Administration in 1977.[1][2]
Howard worked as a critical-care nurse at Brackenrige Hospital and Seton Hospital in Austin.[3] While at Seton, she helped start the Good Health program and served as District 5 President of the Texas Nurse's Association.[3] Howard also served on theUniversity of Texas faculty as a Health Education instructor.[3]
From 1996 to 1999, Howard served on theEanes Independent School District school board.[4]
On February 14, 2006, Howard defeatedRepublican Ben Bentzin in a special election runoff to replace Todd Baxter.[5]
In the 2006 general election, Howard was again to face Bentzin, but Bentzin ultimately withdrew from the race, which Howard won by a wide margin.[6]
Howard retained her seat in 2008, defeating Republican Pamela Waggoner.[7]
In 2009, the Texas Association of Deans and Directors of Professional Nursing Programs honored Howard with its Champion for Nursing Education Award.[3]
In 2010, Howard narrowly defeated formerTexas Longhorn andDenver Broncos playerDan Neil. On election day, theSecretary of State of Texas certified Howard as the winner by 16 votes.[8] Following a recount requested by Neil, the Secretary of State found Howard to still be the winner, though by only 12 votes.[9] Neil then requested that the election be investigated by the House of Representatives.[9] After a four-day hearing headed up by RepresentativeWill Hartnett, Howard was found to have won the election by 4 votes and Neil ultimately dropped the contest.[9] The Secretary of State still reports an official margin of 12 votes.[10] Even with the 12 vote victory that the Secretary of State considers official, it is theclosest Texas House race on record.
In 2011, Howard was the recipient of the 2011 Dr. Dorothy J. Lovett Distinguished Alumni Award from theUniversity of Texas School of Nursing and was inducted in theUniversity of Texas College of Education Hall of Honor.[11][12]
In 2019, Howard authored H.B. 1590, which created a Sexual Assault Survivors Task Force in the Governor's Office to collect information on agencies' responses to sexual assaults and develop best practices. The bill passed unanimously in the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor.[13] The Task Force began meeting on February 6, 2020, and is due to deliver a series of reports to the Texas Legislature on November 1, 2020.[14]
Texas Monthly named Howard a Best Lawmaker in June 2019 for her work during Texas' 86th Legislative session.[15]
Election history of Howard.[16]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 64,039 | 79.6 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Jerome Mccarthy | 16,439 | 20.4 | |
| Majority | 47,600 | 59.1 | ||
| Turnout | 80,478 | 54.6 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 73,590 | 70.1 | |
| Republican | Bill Strieber | 31,382 | 29.9 | |
| Majority | 42,208 | 40.2 | ||
| Turnout | 104,972 | 71.6 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 67,952 | 100.0 | |
| Majority | 67,952 | 100.0 | ||
| Turnout | 67,952 | 8.8 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 60,512 | 79.4 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 15,702 | 20.6 | |
| Majority | 44,810 | 58.8 | ||
| Turnout | 76,214 | 10.5 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 39,668 | 78.1 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 11,126 | 21.9 | |
| Majority | 28,542 | 56.2 | ||
| Turnout | 50,794 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 46,512 | 59.2 | |
| Republican | Robert Thomas | 27,922 | 35.5 | |
| Libertarian | Joe Edgar | 4,134 | 5.3 | |
| Majority | 18,590 | 23.7 | ||
| Turnout | 78,568 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 25,023 | 48.54 | |
| Republican | Dan Neil | 25,011 | 48.52 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 1,519 | 2.9 | |
| Majority | 12 | 0.02 | ||
| Turnout | 51,553 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 39,748 | 53.7 | |
| Republican | Pamela Waggoner | 31,028 | 42.0 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 3,174 | 4.3 | |
| Majority | 8,720 | 11.7 | ||
| Turnout | 73,950 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 31,255 | 77.8 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 8,939 | 22.2 | |
| Majority | 22,316 | 55.6 | ||
| Turnout | 40,194 | |||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard (Incumbent) | 4,133 | 92.3 | |
| Democratic | Kathy Rider | 229 | 5.1 | |
| Democratic | Andy Brown | 114 | 2.5 | |
| Turnout | 4,476 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard | 12,620 | 57.6 | |
| Republican | Ben Bentzin (withdrawn) | 9,284 | 42.4 | |
| Majority | 3,336 | 15.2 | ||
| Turnout | 21,904 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Howard | 6,705 | 49.5 | |
| Republican | Ben Bentzin | 5,125 | 37.8 | |
| Democratic | Kathy Rider | 1,416 | 10.4 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Easton | 310 | 2.3 | |
| Turnout | 13,556 | |||
