Griffith debate prompts Howie to run for seat in District 5
By Eric Fleischauer
Staff Writer
An impromptu debate with his congressman, said Mitchell Howie, led him to enter the race for the 5th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Howie, 30, said he attended a meeting where then-Democrat U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith of Huntsville spoke.

“I couldn’t believe he was a Democrat based on the things he was saying,” Democrat Howie said. “I couldn’t believe he was a congressman based on the things he was saying. I debated him on a couple of issues right there. He just made me mad.”

After the exchange, according to Howie, several people approached him about running against Griffith in the June 1 primary. He declined.

“I said I didn’t want to run against an incumbent in a primary; that’s an uphill battle.”

Three weeks later, in December, Griffith announced he would run as a Republican.

“That was after he sat in that church full of people, saying he would not change parties and he believed in Democrat values,” said Howie. “That’s when I began talking to those folks, and we started laying the groundwork.”

Background

Howie, who lives in Hampton Cove with his wife Melanie and 6-year-old son, works in his uncle’s law practice in Huntsville.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a law degree from the University of Houston. He attended two years at Huntsville High School, finishing his schooling in Galveston, Texas.

A single mother raised Howie, who said he has never met his father. His grandfather, pediatrician Virgil Howie, filled a paternal role for him.

“My grandfather was one of only a few doctors here in Huntsville to have a desegregated waiting room in the 1950s and ’60s. Black and white kids could play together,” Mitchell Howie said.

He said his grandfather played an active role in assisting civil rights activists in the 1960s.

“He even bailed some people out after marches. As a result, they received some death threats, but he kept doing what was right.”

Howie has never run for office before. In Texas, he was chief of staff for a state representative.

Growing up without a father created obstacles, he said, but his grandfather and uncles were available to help.

Perspectives

“Ultimately what it did is taught me to understand other perspectives,” Howie said. “It allowed me to interact with a broader array of individuals. It’s something you deal with.”

Howie’s main goal if he enters Congress would be to start a jobs initiative.

“It’s a green TVA jobs proposal,” he explained. “My vision is I want a public-private partnership where we bring back thousands of manufacturing jobs that we’ve lost in North Alabama over the years. We would bring back manufacturing jobs to manufacture solar panels and wind turbines. The infrastructure is already here. We’re uniquely situated with all sorts of engineering talent.”

In addition to creating North Alabama jobs, he said, it would help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and reduce greenhouse gases.

Howie voted for Barack Obama and generally approves of how he is dealing with the presidency, but said he disagrees with Obama’s proposed restructuring of NASA.

While the federal government should avoid meddling with local education matters, he said, it must be involved in making sure all schools meet certain basic standards.

“We have to have a public education system where every child, no matter the zip code or circumstances they were born into, is allowed an opportunity to have access to a quality education. That’s my baseline.”

An indication that many school systems are failing in that effort is the state’s high dropout rate.

“A 33 percent dropout rate is a good year in Alabama. It should be a bad year. We need local-state-federal partnerships to remedy that. I want to allow our teachers the flexibility to teach, but I want accountability measures to ensure that people are doing their jobs and the children are learning.”

‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’

Howie favors an end to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of dealing with homosexuals in the military. It is demeaning to people willing to risk their lives for their country, he said, and the military needs everyone it can get.

He favors health-care reform, which was the subject he said triggered his pre-candidacy debate with Griffith.

“The people deserve better. People don’t want old-style Washington. I provide an alternative to that. I’m not a politician. I’m coming in from a military officer standpoint of moving the country forward, not from a partisan standpoint.”

Howie will run against Huntsville political consultant Steve Raby, Huntsville physicist David J. Maker and Huntsville lawyer Tazewell Shepard in the Democrat primary.

Mitchell J. Howie

Party: Democrat.

Age: 30.

Education: University of Texas, University of Houston Law School.

Political experience: Chief of staff for Texas state legislator.

Website: www.howieforcongress.com.

Howie campaign funds

Mitchell Howie is handicapped in raising money in his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives, and he resents the attention fundraising attracts.

“Fundraising is not fun,” the Democrat said last month. “I don’t have a Washington Rolodex like other folks do. The idea of judging a candidate based on the money they raise for their campaign I think is absurd. It’s not going to give us representatives who are there for public service.”

As of March 31, Howie had raised $56,300, according to Federal Election Commission records. None came from political action committees.

Almost half came from people residing outside of Alabama — mainly from Texas, where he has spent much of his life. Many other contributions are from people that share his last name.

“We don’t have an angel donor,” Howie said. “I’ll shake 10 times as many hands as my opponent.”