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Ann Willis Richards (born September 1, 1933), nÊe
Dorothy Ann Willis, is an United States|American
politician from Texas.  She rose to nationwide
fame as the keynote speaker at the 1988 Democratic
National Convention leading up to the U.S.
presidential election, 1988|1988 presidential
election. She served as Governor of Texas from
1991 to 1995, when she was defeated by George W.
Bush, current President of the United
States|President of the United States.

== Early life ==
Richards was born Dorothy Ann Willis in Lakeview,
Texas.  She grew up in Waco, Texas, and graduated
from Waco High School in 1950, participating in
Girls State.  She received a bachelor's degree
from Baylor University while on a debate
scholarship. She married her high school
sweetheart, David Richards, and moved to Austin,
Texas, where she earned a teaching certificate
from the University of Texas at Austin.

After graduation, she taught social studies and
history at Fulmore Junior High School in Austin,
Texas from 1955 to 1956.  During this time, she
had two daughters and two sons, and she campaigned
for Texas liberals and progressives such as Henry
B. Gonzalez, Ralph Yarborough, and Sarah
Weddington. She demonstrated interest in social
causes such as social equality|equality, gay
rights and women's rights.

== Political career ==

In 1976, Richards ran against and defeated a
three-term incumbent on the Travis County, Texas
Commissioner Court, holding the position for six
years. The conditions of politics put a strain on
her marriage and she and her husband were
divorced; she began to drink heavily and spent
several years rehabilitating. She then was elected
State Treasurer in 1982, becoming the first woman
elected to statewide office in more than fifty
years.  In 1986, she was re-elected without
opposition.


Richards delivered the keynote address to the 1988
Democratic National Convention, a move which put
her in the national spotlight with the line "Poor
George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush, he can't help
it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
The speech set the tone for her political future;
she described herself as a real Texan (in supposed
contrast to George H.W. Bush), established herself
as a feminist, and reached out to
African-Americans and Hispanics.

Texas's Republican Party (United
States)|Republican Governor of Texas|governor,
Bill Clements, decided not to run for re-election
in 1990. Richards painted herself as a progressive
feminist, and won the Democratic nomination for
governor against former governor Mark White. The
Republican nomination for governor passed to
multi-millionaire rancher Clayton Williams. After
a brutal campaign,  Richards won the election on
November 6, 1990, and was inaugurated governor the
following January.

The economy of Texas|Texas economy had been in a
slump since the mid-1980s, compounded by a
downturn in the U.S. economy. Richards responded
with a program of economic revitalization,
yielding growth in 1991 of 2% when the U.S.
economy as a whole shrank. Richards also attempted
to streamline Texas's government and regulatory
institutions for business and the public; her
efforts in the former helped to revitalize Texas's
corporate infrastructure for its explosive
economic growth later in the decade, and her
audits on the state bureaucracy saved $6 billion.



As governor, Richards reformed the Texas 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 (from less than 60,000
in 1992 to more than 80,000 in 1994). She backed
proposals to reduce the sale of assault weapons in
the state and "cop-killer" bullets. 

The Texas Lottery was also instituted during her
governorship - advocated as a means of
supplementing school finances; Ann Richards
purchased the first lotto ticket on May 29, 1992. 
However, most of the income from the lottery goes
into the state's general fund rather than
specifically to education.  School finance
remained one of the key issues of her governorship
and of those succeeding hers; the famous Robin
Hood plan was launched in the 1992-1993 biennium
which 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.

She was unexpectedly defeated in 1994 by George W.
Bush, winning 46% of the vote to Bush's 53%, even
after outspending the Bush campaign by $2.6
million. 
http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/html/part/fe
atures/0400_01/slide2.html Many believed it was
political "payback" for Richards' impolite
recommendation to former President George H.W.
Bush: "don't let the door hit your ass on the way
out" in 1992. The Richards' campaign had hoped for
a misstep from the relatively inexperienced
Republican candidate, but none appeared, and
Richards created one of her own in calling Bush
"some jerk," recalling missteps that cost Clayton
Williams the election in 1990. Richards would
later commend Bush's oratory and attributed her
loss in 1994 to Bush's ability to "stay on
message."http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/cand
idates/can_bush-baseball.html The key campaign
issues in the Texas gubernatorial election were
crime and gun control, and Richards' stances on
both issues were sometimes viewed as unyielding
and strong.

== Post governorship ==

Since 2001, Richards has been a senior adviser
with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and
Hand, a Washington, D.C.-based international law
firm. Richards sits on the boards of the Aspen
Institute, J.C. Penney, and T.I.G. Holdings.

She was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 1996,
having lost 3/4 inch in height and broken her hand
and ankle.  She changed her diet and lifestyle,
which has stabilized her bone density.  She talks
frequently about this experience, advocating a
healthier lifestyle for women at risk of the
disease.

In the U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004
presidential election, Richards endorsed Governor
Howard Dean for the Democratic nomination, and
campaigned on Dean's behalf. Richards later
stumped for Democratic nominee John Kerry,
highlighting the issues of health 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 selected
North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

== External links ==



*http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/annricha
rds1988dnc.htm Ann Richards' 1988 Democratic
Convention Keynote Address
*http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Fiscal_Size-up/Fiscal_
Size-up_2002-2003_0102.pdf 2002-2003 Fiscal
Size-up by the Texas Legislative Budget Board
*http://www.voice.neu.edu/980622/citations/richard
s.html Biography of Ann Richards from Northeastern
University

start box
succession box|
 before=Bill Clements|
 title=List of Governors of Texas|Governor of
Texas|
 after=George W. Bush|
 years=1991–1995
end box