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Ann Richards | |
|---|---|
 Richards in 1992 | |
| 45thGovernor of Texas | |
| In office January 15, 1991 – January 17, 1995 | |
| Lieutenant | Bob Bullock |
| Preceded by | Bill Clements |
| Succeeded by | George W. Bush |
| Treasurer of Texas | |
| In office January 18, 1983 – January 15, 1991 | |
| Governor | Mark White Bill Clements |
| Preceded by | Warren Harding |
| Succeeded by | Kay Bailey Hutchison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dorothy Ann Willis (1933-09-01)September 1, 1933 Lakeview, Texas (nowLacy Lakeview), U.S. |
| Died | September 13, 2006(2006-09-13) (aged 73) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Texas State Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingCecile |
| Relatives | Gary Tinterow (first cousin once removed) |
| Education | Baylor University (BA) University of Texas at Austin |
Dorothy Ann Richards (néeWillis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45thgovernor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as theTexas State Treasurer, when she gave the keynote address at the1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards was the secondfemale governor of Texas (the first beingMiriam A. Ferguson), and was frequently noted in the media for her outspokenfeminism and herone-liners.[1]
Born inMcLennan County, Texas, Richards became a schoolteacher after graduating fromBaylor University. She won election to theTravis County Commissioners' Court in 1976, and took office asTexas State Treasurer in 1983. She delivered a nominating speech forWalter Mondale at the1984 Democratic National Convention, and the keynote address at the1988 Democratic National Convention.
Richards won the1990 Texas gubernatorial election, defeating Texas Attorney GeneralJim Mattox in a Democratic primary run-off election and businessmanClayton Williams in the general election. She was defeated in the1994 Texas gubernatorial election byGeorge W. Bush. She remained active in public life until her death in 2006. To date, Richards is the most recent Democrat and woman to serve as Governor of Texas.
Richards was born in Lakeview (now part ofLacy Lakeview), inMcLennan County, Texas, the only child of Robert Cecil Willis and Mildred Iona "Ona" Warren. Robert Cecil Willis was a pharmaceutical salesman who served inWorld War II and Mildred Iona Warren was a homemaker. Both of Richards' parents were Texas natives. Richards grew up inWaco, and the family briefly lived inSan Diego, before moving back to Texas at the start of Richards's high school years. At this time, she dropped her first name and went by her middle name. She participated inGirls State, a mock-government assembly. She also was the Texas delegate in Washington, D.C. at the Girls Nation event, where she found her passion for politics. She graduated fromWaco High School in 1950. She attendedBaylor University on adebate team scholarship, and earned a bachelor's degree. After marrying her high school sweetheart David "Dave" Richards, she moved toAustin, where she earned a teaching certificate from theUniversity of Texas. David and Ann Richards had four children:Cecile, Daniel, Clarke, and Ellen. Her first cousin once removed was theart historianGary Tinterow. Cecile was born on July 15, 1957. She is the former president of Planned Parenthood (2006–2018). Cecile died of glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer that is incurable and has a survival rate of 12 to 18 months, on January 20, 2025.
Richards taughtsocial studies andhistory at Fulmore Junior High School (re-named Lively Middle School) in Austin from 1955 to 1956. She campaigned for Texasliberals andprogressives, such asHenry B. Gonzalez,Ralph Yarborough, and futureU.S. District JudgeSarah T. Hughes.
After incumbentTexas State TreasurerWarren G. Harding (no relation to the U.S. president) became mired in legal troubles in 1982, Richards won the Democratic nomination for that post. Winning election against a Republican opponent in November that year, Richards became the first woman elected to statewide office in more than fifty years. In 1986, she was re-elected treasurer without opposition. Richards was a popular and proactive treasurer who worked to maximize the return of Texas state investments. Richards said that when she took office, the Treasury Department was run something like a 1930s country bank, with deposits that didn't earn interest.[citation needed] At the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Richards delivered one of the nominating speeches for nomineeWalter Mondale, and she campaigned actively for the Mondale/Ferraro ticket in Texas, even though PresidentRonald Reagan enjoyed great popularity in her state.
Richards' keynote address to the1988 Democratic National Convention put her in the national spotlight. The speech was highly critical of theReagan Administration and then–Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush. Her address was notable for several remarks: "I'm delighted to be here with you this evening, because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like", "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth",[2] "Two women in 160 years is about par for the course. But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all,Ginger Rogers did everything thatFred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels",[3] and "When we pay billions for planes that won't fly, billions for tanks that won't fire, and billions for systems that won't work, that old dog won't hunt. And you don't have to be from Waco to know that when the Pentagon makes crooks rich and doesn't make America strong, that it's a bum deal". In the presidential debate that year between Republican George Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis, Bush referenced Richard's uncivil comments about him during her speech on his way to winning the White House.[4] The speech set the tone for Richards' political future. In 1989, with co-authorPeter Knobler, she wrote her autobiography,Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Richards's inauguration from January 15, 1991 | |
| Inaugural Parade Part I | |
| Inaugural Parade Part II |
In 1990, Texas'Republican governor,Bill Clements, decided not to run for re-election to a third nonconsecutive term. Richards painted herself as a sensible progressive and won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination againstAttorney General (and former U.S. representative)Jim Mattox of Dallas and former GovernorMark White ofHouston. Mattox ran a particularly abrasive campaign against Richards, accusing her of having had drug problems beyond alcoholism. The Republicans nominated colorful and eccentric multi-millionairerancherClayton Williams, ofFort Stockton andMidland. Republicanpolitical activistSusan Weddington ofSan Antonio, a Williams supporter, placed a black wreath that read "Death to the Family" at the door of Richards's campaign headquarters in Austin. After a series of gaffes by Williams (most notably a joke aboutrape),[5] Richards narrowly won on November 6, 1990, with 49% of the vote to Williams' 47%.[6]Libertarian Party nominee Jeff Daiell drew 3.3 percent in an effort that included television spots and considerable personal campaigning. Richards was inaugurated governor the following January.[7][8]
Richards became the second woman to hold Texas's top office, sinceMiriam "Ma" Ferguson. Her chief of staff wasMary Beth Rogers.[9]
In 1994, Richards ran for re-election against RepublicanGeorge W. Bush. Despite outspending his campaign by 23%, she wasdefeated, with 45.88% of the vote to Bush's 53.48% while Libertarian Keary Ehlers received 0.64%.[10] The Richards campaign had hoped for a misstep from the relatively inexperienced Republican nominee, but none appeared, while Richards created many of her own, including calling Bush "some jerk", "shrub" and "that young Bush boy".[11]
As governor, Richards reformed theTexas prison system, establishing asubstance abuse program for inmates, reducing the number of violent offenders released, and increasing prison space to deal with a growing prison population (from less than 60,000 in 1992 to more than 80,000 in 1994). She backed proposals to reduce the sale ofsemi-automatic firearms and"cop-killer" bullets in the state.[12]
TheTexas Lottery was also instituted during her governorship—advocated as a means of supplementing school finances; Richards purchased the firstlottery ticket on May 29, 1992, inOak Hill, near Austin.[13]
School finance remained one of the key issues of Richards' governorship and of those succeeding hers; the famousRobin Hood plan was launched in the 1992–1993 biennium and attempted to make school funding more equitable across school districts. Richards also sought to decentralize control over education policy to districts and individual campuses; she instituted "site-based management" to this end.
One of her first goals was to focus on education. To do so, she held a "school assembly" on January 19, 1991, where she met with students as well as teachers from all over Texas to hear directly from the source what needed to change in the school systems. She found this to be important because these are the people who were directly affected by the education system at the time. She found education to be extremely important and this was clear during her time in office.
In 1993, Richards signed into law the re-codified Texas Penal Code which included anti-homosexual Section 21.06, the state's "Homosexual Conduct" law which states: "(a) A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.".[14] In 1990, Richards had campaigned in Houston to repeal the law. But, as governor, her signature criminalized same-sex sexual relations in Texas.[citation needed]
Richards was defeated in the1994 Republican landslide that also unseatedNew York GovernorMario Cuomo and brought a Republican majority to theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. Richards and Cuomo appeared in a series of humoroustelevision commercials for the snack foodDoritos[15] shortly afterward, in which they discussed the "sweeping changes" occurring. The changes they are discussing turn out to be the new Doritos packaging.
Beginning in 2001, Richards was a senior advisor to the communications firm Public Strategies, Inc.[16] in Austin and New York. From 1995 to 2001, Richards was also a senior advisor withVerner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand[broken anchor], aWashington, D.C.–based international law firm.[citation needed] Richards sat on the boards of theAspen Institute,JCPenney, and T.I.G. Holdings.
One of her daughters,Cecile Richards, became president ofPlanned Parenthood in 2006.[17] Ann Richards demonstrated interest in social causes such asequality,abortion, andwomen's rights.
She was a tireless campaigner for Democratic candidates throughout the United States. In the2004 presidential election, Richards endorsedHoward Dean[18] for the Democratic nomination, and campaigned on his behalf. Richards later stumped for Democratic nomineeJohn Kerry,[19] highlighting the issues ofhealth care and women's rights. Some political pundits mentioned her as a potential running mate to Kerry; however, she did not make his list of top finalists, and he selectedNorth Carolina SenatorJohn Edwards. Richards said that she was "not interested" in a political comeback.
Richards taught social studies and history at Fulmore Junior High School (now Lively Middle School) in Austin (1954–1957). She continued teaching in later years.
Education was of extreme importance to Richards, especially when it came to solving crime and economic problems in Texas. In November, 1989, she held a campaign speech in Bryan, Texas where she spoke about Texas' criminal justice and economic system and the work that needed to be done to educate the people in order to create a sustainable environment. Richards put great emphasis on an investment in education to promote jobs in Texas' high technology fields and break its crime cycles, or else Texas would be in trouble.[20]
She served atBrandeis University as the Fred and Rita Richman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Politics from 1997 to 1998. In 1998 she was elected as a trustee of Brandeis University inWaltham, Massachusetts, she was reelected in 2004, and continued to hold the position until her death.
Richards was diagnosed withosteoporosis in 1996, having lost3⁄4 inch in height and breaking her hand and ankle. She changed her diet and lifestyle, and then her bone density stabilized. She spoke frequently about this experience, teaching or advocating a healthier lifestyle for women at risk of the disease. In 2004, she co-authoredI'm Not Slowing Down, with thegynaecologist Richard U. Levine, which describes her own battle with osteoporosis and offers guidance to others with the disease.
In Steve Labinski's review,[21] he described the book as inspiring women to fight the disease with various tactics, such as:
In the fall of 2005, Richards taught a class called "Women and Leadership" at theUniversity of Texas at Austin; 21 female students were selected for that class.
Before Richards had died, she created a school for women called "theAnn Richards School for Young Women Leaders". The school opened on August 27, 2007, with a goal to educate and empower young women, grades 6-12, while creating opportunities for them that may not have otherwise presented themselves. Serving for the Austin Independent School District, the public school began by welcoming 6th and 7th grade classes, adding an additional grade every year from 2007 to 2012. In January 2021, the school moved into a new[22] facility. With Richards' vision, so many young women who came from disadvantaged backgrounds now had an opportunity and the confidence to pursue their college education and careers. Today, more than 900 students come together to create a community of women who share a desire to become someone great with thanks to theAustin Independent School District, theDallas-based Young Women’s Preparatory Network (YWPN), andthe Ann Richards School Foundation.[22]
One of her first legislative requests was to move theTexas Music Office (created in 1990 during the administration of GovernorBill Clements) and the Texas Film Commission (created in 1971 during GovernorPreston Smith's term) from the Texas Department of Commerce to the Office of the Governor.
Her longtime personal interest in Texas film and music greatly raised the public profile of both industries and brought the two programs into the Governor's Office. As a result, these industries were institutionalized as key high-profile parts of Texas' future economic growth plans. Other of her music milestones include publishing the first "Texas Music Industry Directory" (1991) and her "Welcome to Texas" speech to the opening day registrants of the 1993 South By Southwest Music and Media Conference.[23] She was involved with theTexas Film Hall of Fame from the beginning. At the first ceremony, she inductedLiz Smith. She wasemcee every subsequent year but had to cancel at the last minute in 2006 because of her diagnosis with cancer.
Richards said, "I've been a friend to Texas film since the number of people who cared about Texas film could have fit in a phone booth." She was an advocate for the Texas film industry and traveled toLos Angeles to market her state. Gary Bond, the director of the Austin Film Commission, noted, "She was far from being the first governor to appoint a film commissioner; I think she was the first that really brought the focus ofHollywood to Texas."
She was also a mentor to other women. She advised Rebecca Campbell, executive director of the Austin Film Society, "Whenever you speak in public you've got to tell them what you need from them." She put the spotlight on film as a genuine industry, brought more focus to Texas, and had a tremendous network of people in the entertainment industry. She gave more focus to film as a business than had been done before.
She was interviewed in the 1996Ken Burns documentary seriesThe West about the history of Texas and the United States in the 1800s. In the film she states that the colonization of the United States requiredgenocide anddispossession, "But even knowing all of that. And wishing that part of it were not there, cannot take away the spirit and idealism and the excitement that people (settlers) felt that actually did it and that we still feel when we think about them doing it."[24] Richards also appeared in a 2009 documentary film,Sam Houston: American Statesman, Soldier, and Pioneer.[25]
It is believed that her last appearance in film was in a short public announcement used at theAlamo Drafthouse, asking patrons not to be disruptive during the film.[26] The Alamo Drafthouse still uses it today, with an addition at the end in honor of Ann Richards.
Richards was active in theAustin City Limits Festivals and theSXSW festival, the interactive music and film festival held each year in Austin.
During her career, Ann Richards received many awards and honors. One of them being the Baylor Distinguished Alumni which is given to the "alumni who makes an outstanding contribution to biomedical and/or medical science through clinical service, research, education and/or administrative leadership." Another one is theTexas NAACP Presidential Award for Outstanding Contributions to Civil Rights. The winners get selected by the NAACP president for acknowledge a special achievement and distinguished public service. She was also awarded theNational Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award. Ann was also given the Orden del Aguila Azteca (Order of the Aztec Eagle) presented by the government of Mexico. Another being the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and finally the Texas Women's Hall of Fame honoree for Public Service. Ann Richards was also fortunate to have a public all girls preparatory school in Austin, Texas named in honor of her in 2007.
While the events of9/11 motivated many New Yorkers to leave the city,Liz Smith wrote that it drove the former governor to that city in which she would spend the last five years of her life.[27] She said that she wanted to convey a message that "just because something tragic and life altering may happen, that doesn't mean we're supposed to turn heel and run away."
In March 2006, Richards disclosed that she had been diagnosed withesophageal cancer and received treatment at theUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center inHouston.[28] Alcohol and tobacco exposure are major risk factors for certain types of esophageal cancer; by her own admission, Richards said that she "smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish" in her younger years.[29]
Richards died of cancer at her home in Austin on September 13, 2006, at the age of 73.[30] Three memorial services were held.[31] Her remains are interred atTexas State Cemetery in Austin.
The City of Austin changed the official name of Congress Avenue Bridge (which opened in 1910) toAnn W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge on November 16, 2006.
The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders inAustin, Texas, which Ann Richards helped to create, is named for her. The Ann Richards School, a college preparatory school for girls in grades 6–12, opened in the fall of 2007 in Austin, and continues to celebrate the life and legacy of Governor Richards. She also inaugurated a school in the year 1999 named Ann Richards Middle School in Palmview, Texas.
A tribute to Richards was featured during the "HerStory" video tribute to notable women onU2's tour in 2017 for the 30th anniversary ofThe Joshua Tree during a performance of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"[32] from the band's 1991 albumAchtung Baby.
Richards' legacy has proven controversial among LGBT groups due to her involvement in the ratification of Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code, a measure that Richards had campaigned against in the1990 Texas gubernatorial election. This law prohibits "deviate sexual intercourse [between] individual[s] of the same sex".[33] This led LGBT commentatorDale Carpenter to describe Richards' legacy as "darkly anti-gay" and raise examples of men having been prosecuted for violating the law that Richards had signed.[34] However, Bryan H. Wildenthal, associate professor and director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, argued that this legislation was passed despite objections by Richards. Wildenthal added that vetoing the legislation would have resulted in the existing sodomy law remaining in force while sacrificing many other unrelated progressive improvements in the code.
In 2001, Richards made acameo appearance in a fifth-season episode of the Texas-based animated TV seriesKing of the Hill. In the episode entitled "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator",Hank Hillmoons her, and she begins a brief relationship withBill Dauterive.[citation needed] She is also seen in theclosing credits ofKing of the Hill Season 1 Episode 4, playingtether ball withWillie Nelson'sroadie.[citation needed]
Richards made a voice cameo in Disney's 2004 animated filmHome on the Range, where she voiced a saloon owner named Annie.
Richards was a topic in the filmBush's Brain (by Joseph Mealey and Michael Shoob), in a segment regarding her defeat in the 1994 election for Texas governor. The film presents the case that her defeat involved awhisper campaign that the governor was a lesbian, because she had allegedly hired many gays and lesbians to work on her re-election campaign.[citation needed]
In the 2008 Oliver Stone filmW., Richards is mentioned during George Bush's campaign as "Ms. Big Mouth, Big Hair".[35]
Richards was one of the characters portrayed byAnna Deavere Smith in her play,Let Me Down Easy, which explores illness, death, and the healthcare system. The show opened in 2008, played in cities around the country, and was featured as part ofPBS'sGreat Performances series on January 13, 2012.
In 2010, actressHolland Taylor debuted in aone-woman show called "Ann: An Affectionate Portrait of Ann Richards" at the Charline McCombs Empire Theater inSan Antonio, Texas.[36] The show was subsequently staged at theKennedy Center inWashington, D.C., and theVivian Beaumont Theater in New York City'sLincoln Center in 2013.[37] PBSGreat Performances broadcast the premiere of the play, now titled simply "Ann," on June 19, 2020. It had been recorded at the Zach Theater in Austin, Texas, following its national tour and Broadway run.[38] Taylor said of her subject, "She was brave, strong, and funny—Bill Clinton has said the wittiest person he'd ever met!...She ran as a liberal in conservative Texas, so I had to write a play about her four incredible years in Austin.... She was ahead of Obama by about 10 years as an 'inclusive' leader."[27]
In 2012, a documentary about her political life,Ann Richards' Texas, was released.[39] On April 28, 2014,HBO released a documentary,All About Ann: Governor Richards of the Lone Star State.
In 2019, "Call Me Ann: A Rock Opera" debuted in Houston, Texas, at the Houston Fringe Festival.[citation needed]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ann Richards | 1,925,670 | 49.47 | ||
| Republican | Clayton Williams | 1,826,431 | 46.92 | ||
| Libertarian | Jeff Daiell | 129,128 | 3.32 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George W. Bush | 2,350,994 | 53.48 | ||
| Democratic | Ann Richards (incumbent) | 2,016,928 | 45.88 | ||
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)). The officialGinger Rogers websiteArchived August 3, 2009, at theWayback Machine attributes the line to Thaves.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Texas 1983–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Texas 1991–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forTexas State Treasurer 1982, 1986 | Succeeded by Nikki Van Hightower |
| Preceded by | Keynote Speaker of theDemocratic National Convention 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Texas 1990,1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Permanent Chair of the Democratic National Convention 1992 | Succeeded by |
