Speaker's Diplomacy Pays Off in Roads Plan

Last month, when Chichester (Northumberland) and other senators tried to scuttle the transportation proposal, Howell vowed to keep fighting for it.

"He made that call: 'Let's go forward,' " House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said.

The Senate narrowly approved the bill despite Kaine's and Chichester's objections. To win approval in the more conservative House, Howell had to harness his unruly Republican caucus of 58 delegates, many of whom had signed pledges not to raise taxes. In the end, all but six voted for the plan.

"He expended a lot of capital," Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) said.

Unlike past speakers, who have ruled their caucus through intimidation and backroom deals, GOP delegates said Howell used gentle persuasion to get them to buy into the plan.

"He didn't twist arms beyond a reasonable level. He emphasized that the people of Virginia are demanding we do something about transportation. There were no threats," said Lacey E. Putney (Bedford), an independent who meets with the House Republicans.

Putney, who was a Democrat when he took office in 1962, added, "Past speakers wouldn't have hesitated to remind a member of his committee assignment and who made the committee assignment."

Even Democrats, who are hoping to pick up seats this fall, say Howell scored a big personal victory. "If you are looking at it strictly from a political maneuvering and political success, yeah, he gets credit," said House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry).

But Armstrong and other Democrats are critical of the plan, saying it doesn't produce enough revenue, probably won't be enacted by local governments and diverts too much money from other critical services, such as education.

"This thing is all about politics. It has nothing to do with fixing our highway problems," Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said. "Bill's a nice guy, but I won't go beyond that."

A devout Christian who teaches Sunday school, Howell was first elected in 1987 after a career as a lawyer and banker.

In the House, Howell quickly became known for his folksy personality and flashes of potent humor, which earned him many friends on both sides of the aisle.

When former Speaker S. Vance Wilkins resigned amid scandal in 2002, GOP delegates settled on Howell as the next speaker in part because of his reputation as a family man. After becoming speaker, Howell formed the nonprofit Virginia Reform Initiative to foster what he has described as a "low-tax, pro-economic growth" style of government.

But Howell's efforts to revamp Virginia government have been stymied. Since he became speaker, Republicans have lost seven House seats, including five in Northern Virginia.

"His focus is on policy and trying to advance his principles rather than simply playing a political game," said Deputy Attorney General William C. Mims, a former state senator and Howell's longtime friend.

In 2004, then-Gov. Mark Warner (D) forced a debate on taxes and steamrolled Howell by convincing 17 House Republicans to support the plan.

Still reeling from the 2004 budget fight, Howell held firm last year that the House wasn't going to cave to pressure from Kaine or Chichester to raise taxes to pay for road and mass transit improvements.

"It takes a while to learn the job and how to use your power effectively to get results," said Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R). "This year, he felt he needed to use every resource available to him as speaker to get the job done."

In October, as it became increasingly clear that Democrats could unseat then-U.S. Sen. George Allen (R), Howell instructed several House Republicans to develop a new transportation proposal.

Even so, some of the state's most powerful leaders had to step in to keep the process moving. On the day before Thanksgiving, Howell met with Republican Reps. Frank R. Wolf and Thomas M. Davis III at the speaker's cabin overlooking the Rappahannock River.

"We said, 'Bill, we have in Northern Virginia a critical need that we really have to address,' " Wolf recalled.

But Howell had limited influence with the Senate, which forced party leaders to rely on McDonnell to bring the two sides together.

With new discussions now possible with the governor, Howell says he won't need a mediator this time.

"We both want to get transportation behind us," Howell said of Kaine, recounting a brief meeting he had with the governor two weeks ago. "It's been a huge 800-pound gorilla we have all been dealing with, and it's good to get it behind us and move on to other things."