Ann RIchards
Ann Richards
Ann Willis Richards is arguably one of the most important women in Texas history. Her broad political life included County Commissioner, Treasurer of the State of Texas, and the second woman Governor of Texas. She created opportunities to countless women, improved Texas economics, and made reformations of many crises faced by early Texas.
Ann Richards was born Dorthy Ann Willis in Lakeview, Texas on September 1, 1933. She grew up in Waco, Texas and was granted a scholarship to attended Baylor University through her high school debate team. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she married Dave Richards and the two of them moved to Austin. Ann attended the University of Texas at Austin and she earned her teaching degree. She taught at Fulmore Junior High School in Austin and claimed that teaching was “the hardest work I had ever done.” Shortly after, she moved with her husband and their four children to Dallas where Ann volunteered for various campaigns and civil rights causes.
Richards ran for Travis County Commissioner in 1976 and won with almost eighty-two percent of the vote. She beat three-term Commissioner Laurel Freeman and became the first woman elected as County Commissioner. This was not her first political victory. In 1982, Ann was elected Texas State Treasurer, making her the first woman elected to Texas office in over fifty years. She was very admired and made many profitable decisions which maximized Texas’ return on investments.
Before 1988, Ann Richards was mostly known amongst Texans but after the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Richards had the whole country talking. In her speech, Richards criticized the Reagan/ H.W. Bush Administration and supported fellow Democrat Walter Mondale. Richards showed her fiery personality as well as her great sense of humor with quotes such as, “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 that
Ann Willis Richards is arguably one of the most important women in Texas history. Her broad political life included County Commissioner, Treasurer of the State of Texas, and the second woman Governor of Texas. She created opportunities to countless women, improved Texas economics, and made reformations of many crises faced by early Texas.
Ann Richards was born Dorthy Ann Willis in Lakeview, Texas on September 1, 1933. She grew up in Waco, Texas and was granted a scholarship to attended Baylor University through her high school debate team. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she married Dave Richards and the two of them moved to Austin. Ann attended the University of Texas at Austin and she earned her teaching degree. She taught at Fulmore Junior High School in Austin and claimed that teaching was “the hardest work I had ever done.” Shortly after, she moved with her husband and their four children to Dallas where Ann volunteered for various campaigns and civil rights causes.
Richards ran for Travis County Commissioner in 1976 and won with almost eighty-two percent of the vote. She beat three-term Commissioner Laurel Freeman and became the first woman elected as County Commissioner. This was not her first political victory. In 1982, Ann was elected Texas State Treasurer, making her the first woman elected to Texas office in over fifty years. She was very admired and made many profitable decisions which maximized Texas’ return on investments.
Before 1988, Ann Richards was mostly known amongst Texans but after the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Richards had the whole country talking. In her speech, Richards criticized the Reagan/ H.W. Bush Administration and supported fellow Democrat Walter Mondale. Richards showed her fiery personality as well as her great sense of humor with quotes such as, “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 that