A Texas Legend We Shared with America
Monday, September 6, 2010

No matter where you were in Texas at twelve o’clock noon on Monday, September 18, 2006, you most likely heard those church bells pealing. Regardless of your political leanings, and unless you’d been visiting on the moon for the last couple of weeks, you knew that they rang to mark the passing of Ann Richards, Texas’ 45th governor, and a woman known for her quick wit and feisty personality.

In Texas folks have always referred to her as “our Ann”. She was much more than a quick witted woman with a feisty personality to thousands of people, especially women and minorities. Although that wit and feistiness were her calling cards, Ann was a complex and caring person. She touched many lives and dedicated much of her career to bettering the lives of the common people, those she often referred to as “the forgotten special interest segment” not only in Texas, but the country as a whole. She scorned politicians who used divisive tactics to pit the regions of the country against one another, constantly reminding us that this is America, the United States. She was committed to the proposition that no matter where, or what circumstances we may have come from, or what color we were, we live in an America that is a country of fair play where we all have the same chance to succeed.

Born Dorothy Ann Willis in 1933 in a small town near Waco, Ann graduated from Waco High School in 1950. She attended Baylor University on a debate scholarship, receiving a bachelor’s degree. She married her high school sweetheart David Richards and the couple moved to Austin, Texas. Ann received her teaching certificate from the University of Texas and taught school in Austin at Fulmore Junior High School. David was an attorney who was keenly interested in politics, as was Ann. She used to quip that her political career began almost as a hobby. It was something she and David did together, “like other couples who join dance clubs or bowling teams.” Her first elected office was to a seat on the Travis County Commissioner Court, defeating a three-term incumbent on the four member court. Six years later she was elected State Treasurer, becoming the first woman elected to a statewide office in Texas in 50 years.

Ann's career and political clout grew at a breakneck pace, but the toll on her personal life was great. The time consumed by her political duties, combined with an increasing problem with alcohol abuse brought about the end of her marriage, leaving her as a single mother with four children and crushing responsibilities. It was a tough load to juggle. But juggle it she did, without shirking her duties to her children or her state. Richards sought and completed treatment for alcoholism in 1980. Until her death, Ann devoted much of her private time to helping other alcoholics. Noted journalist Molly Ivans, a lifelong friend of Ann’s, commented “Anyone who ever heard her (Ann Richards) speak at an AA convention knows how close laughter and tears can be.”

Ann Richards gained national prominence in 1988 when she made the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. That speech set the tone for the rest of her political career, establishing her as a candidate who appealed to rural voters, as well as the traditional Democratic base which included African-Americans and Hispanics. The speech also endeared Ann Richards to the heart of every woman who heard it. The speech began:

”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.

“Twelve years ago Barbara Jordan, another Texas woman, made the keynote address to this convention, and two women in a hundred and sixty years is about par for the course.

“But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.”

It was also in that speech that she uttered her now famous line, about the wealthy, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush, “Poor, George, he can’t help it…He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

In 1990 Ann Richards was elected governor of the state of Texas. Her tenure as Governor was a grueling one. The Texas economy had been in a slump since the mid-1890’s, magnified by a general turndown in the U.S. economy. She responded with a program of economic revitalization which resulted in a growth rate of 2 percent in 1991, when the U.S. economy actually shrank. Her efforts at streamlining Texas’s government and regulatory agencies for business helped to revitalize the state’s corporate infrastructure, paving the way for its dramatic growth later in the decade. Her audits of the state’s bureaucracy saved the state an estimated $6 billion. She reformed the prison system, establishing a substance abuse program for inmates, reducing the number of violent offenders released and increasing prison space to deal with a growing prison population. The Texas Lottery was instituted during her governorship as a means of supplementing school finances. Richards purchased the first lotto ticket in Oak Hill, Texas, on May 29, 1992.

Richards was defeated by George W. Bush in her re-election bid in 1994. It was a stunning and unexpected defeat. Ann would say after the election that she simply underestimated her opponent – did not take him seriously. In retrospect, many credit her veto of the Concealed Carry Bill that would have allowed licensed citizens to carry guns for self-defense inside public establishments without the owner’s permission, as the main cause of her defeat. The key issues in that gubernatorial race were gun control, God and crime.

Her views on crime and gun control issues were painted by her opponent as weak. Her stance as a pro-abortionist was unpopular. The NRA launched a massive campaign to lobby for passage of the concealed weapons bill, appealing to women by pointing out how much safer we would all feel if we could carry guns in our purses. Ann replied “Well, you know that I’m not a sexist, but there is not a woman I know who could find a gun in her purse.” Others attributed the loss to the tremendous rise in power of the Republican Party nationally that year. 1994 marked the last year any Democrat was elected to a statewide office in Texas.

After her defeat Ann remained politically active until her death. In 1998 she was elected as a trustee of Brandeis University in Waltham, MS. She was reelected in 2004 and continued to hold the position until her death. From 1995 to 2001, Richards was a senior advisor with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, a Washington, D.C.–based international law firm. Richards sat on the boards of the Aspen Institute, J.C. Penney, and T.I.G. Holdings. Beginning in 2001, she was a senior advisor to the communication firm Public Strategies, Inc, in Austin and New York.

In 1996 Ann Richards was diagnosed with osteoporosis, having lost ¾ inch in height and broken her hand and ankle. She spoke frequently about her experiences, advocating a healthier lifestyle for women. She wrote I'm Not Slowing Down with Dr. Richard U. Levine in 2004, a book describing her own battle with osteoporosis and offering guidance to other women with the disease.

Throughout her career Richards was active in the Art and Entertainment fields, being involved with the Texas Film Hall of Fame from its beginning. She established the Film Commission in the Governor’s Office and is credited with putting the spotlight on film as a genuine Texas industry, bringing more focus to Texas. She had a tremendous network of people in the entertainment industry. For an example of her dedication to film, see this great little promo clip which she made in the days before announcing that she had cancer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUqLWTQCeHM

In 1995 Ann Richards was invited to give the commencement address at Mount Holyoke College. She was presented an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree at the event. Ann’s comments after the presentation, so true to her wit were: “I think I deserve this honorary degree. I told my friends at home they now had to call me Doctor Governor. It is wonderful to get a Doctorate of Laws. I was married to a lawyer for 30 years, so I earned it.” I believe that the ending lines of that speech so perfectly sum up the person that Ann Richards was, and the spirit with which she left us. “Don’t get caught up in the political rhetoric, live with the reality of service” she advised the graduates. She closed the speech thusly:

“Now that the preaching is over, I thought I should give you five rules for living life that have worked for me.

“The first rule in life is: Cherish your friends and your family as if your life depended on it...because it does.

“Number Two: Love people more than things. You know those T-shirts that say ‘He who has the most toys when he dies wins.’ I’m going to promise you that over the years I’ve spent my life collecting a great number of things I thought I was going to die if I didn’t have. And I wouldn’t give you a nickel for most of it today.

“Number Three: Indulge the fool in you. Encourage the clown and the laughter that is inside of you. You know? Go ahead and do it. Make time now for play, for the impractical, for the absurd, and make it a rule to do it. Not just every now and then. Let your heart overrule your head once in a while. Never turn down a new experience unless it’s against the law or it’s going to get you in real serious trouble.

“Number Four: Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about your failures. I’ve learned a lot more from my mistakes than from all of my successes.

“And number Five: Have sense about work. No one ever died muttering, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”

Ann Richards died on September 13, 2006, at her home in Austin Texas, at age 73, after a six-month battle with esophageal cancer. 3,800 mourners attended her memorial service at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center in Austin, arriving to the recorded strains of Willie Nelson singing “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and other recordings of blues and jazz greats. A private burial service was held on Monday, September 18, 2005 at the Texas State Cemetery, attended by about 500 people, including family and close friends. She will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.

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