Tootell was a member of the
Rhode Island House of Representatives between 1973 and 1977. She was the first woman to represent district 52 in the state house. Although Frank Heppner writes that Tootell was affiliated with the
Democratic Party, records kept by the government of Rhode Island state that Tootell was nominated by the
Republican Party without opposition in 1972 and 1974, and faced opposition candidate Robert M. Smith in the 1972 general election, while winning reelection unopposed in 1974. ==Personal life==