Gwen Howard (D-NE-2)
Gwen Howard
Campaign links: Gwen Howard (D-NE-2) 
Gwendolyn Eloise “Gwen” Howard
Gwen Howard Congressional Candidate Nebraska District 2
Biography of Gwen Howard from Gwen Howard for Congress
Nebraska State Senator Gwen Howard is running for Congress on an agenda that focuses on job creation and pledges to protect Social Security and Medicare. Howard is pro-education, a strong voice for working families, pro-choice and supports and is supported by the GLBT community.
As a progressive candidate, Gwen Howard follows in the tradition of the last Democrat to serve the Second District – Gwen Howard’s late and great friend Peter Hoagland – who was unabashedly pro-labor and pro-choice. The last federal candidate to win this district was Barack Obama.
Gwen Howard is the only Second District candidate for Congress in either party with a proven legislative record of working across party lines to build consensus and success, an ability which is too rare in the current Congress.
In spite of her status as a Democrat in the increasingly partisan and Republican-dominated Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, Gwen Howard has a substantial record of legislative accomplishment, often over the opposition of a Republican governor. A sample of her successful legislation includes repeal of a sales tax on home repairs, expansion of property tax homestead exemptions for seniors and the disabled, new consumer protections in the nursing home industry, anti-bullying legislation to make schools safer and an early intervention program in which Visiting Nurses provide in-home training for parents of at-risk newborns. In fact, Gwen Howard has authored more successful legislation in 7 years than Lee Terry has in 7 terms.
And Gwen Howard was a leading voice in opposition to Lee Terry’s signature legislation this year, his bill that would have made it easier to place robocalls to cellphones. This assault and intrusion on cellphone customers became the focus of many national consumer advocates and is opposed by 48 state attorneys general. After 14 years in Congress, this special interest legislation was Lee Terry’s priority. It was such a bad proposal, after 48 state attorneys general came out in bipartisan agreement against this bill, Lee Terry was forced to withdraw his legislation.
At home in Nebraska, Senator Gwen Howard also provided an early voice warning of the problems that would (and have) developed with an under-funded privitization of child welfare services. She has won numerous awards for her service in the Legislature as an advocate for taxpayers, children and youth, education and seniors. In the Legislature, Gwen serves as vice-chair of the Education Committee and as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee.
Gwen is not a professional politician. She spent most of her career as a social worker, much of that time facilitating adoptions. She graduated from Omaha Benson High School, where she is now a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. She earned a degree in sociology and psychology from Midland Lutheran College and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska. She remains accredited by both the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers.
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