Ann Richards and the "New Texas"

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In continuing celebration of Women’s History Month, this week we are celebrating the life and legacy of Ann Richards, who served as the Governor of Texas from 1991-1995. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ann Richards being inaugurated as the 45th Governor of Texas and she is one of only two women in Texas history to ever serve in that role.  

Dorothy Ann Richards (1933-2006) grew up in Waco, Texas, and developed an interest in civic engagement and public speaking at a young age. While in high school, Richards participated in the debate team and in the Girls State (and Nation) program where she practiced politics in a mock government. She also attended Baylor University on a debate scholarship. Her parents also played a significant role in shaping her into the person she became: "Richards' father, Cecil, a pharmaceutical salesman, passed on his charm and wit, and as he taught his daughter to hunt and fish, he also instilled in her a belief that the world was open to her in any way she chose. But Dorothy Ann’s mother, Iona, would teach her that progress did not come without great effort; she was a woman driven to give her only child everything she had lacked” (Swartz, 1990). 

Ann married her high school sweetheart, David Richards, in 1953 and they moved to Austin in 1954 where Ann taught government and history at Fulmore High School from 1957-1959. The Richards moved to Dallas in 1959 and Ann helped form the North Dallas Democratic Women’s club in the early 1960s in an effort to give more power to women in the party, serving as its president for a time. Ann also helped organize the Dallas Committee for Peaceful Integration during that time and worked for the local chapter of the NAACP (Current Biography, p. 43). The Richards moved back to Austin in 1969 and Ann became increasingly involved in local politics and served as Sarah Weddington’s campaign manager during a run for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 1972. A few years later, she also managed the campaign of Wilhelmina Delco, who became the first Black elected official to represent Austin in the Texas Legislature in 1974.  

In an interview with Prudence Mackintosh, Ann was asked about female politicians and how they differed from the men she has worked for before. She answered that "women tend to be more receptive to instruction...they are more interested in new approaches, and they are hesitant to attack...Most good women candidates come across as honest, sure of themselves on issues, but also as gentle, and as people you can work with." Mackintosh also noted that Ann attributed her “feminist concerns” to her position as a daughter and a mother; her mother belonged to the "Rosie the Riveter" generation--women who learned during World War II that they could do men’s work (Mackintosh, pp. 135-136). 

Finally, in 1976, Richards herself ran for public office and was elected the first female Travis County Commissioner. She spoke at the 1977 National Women’s Conference in support of the primary resolution of the conference, the Equal Rights Amendment: “I rise on behalf of my two daughters who cannot find women in the history texts of this county. I also rise on behalf of the men, the contemporary men in America in thirty-five states who had the guts to stand up and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.”  

Richards had been a longtime advocate of women’s rights; she had been appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the President’s Advisory Committee for Women in 1978 and served an active role in the National Women’s Political Caucus (Winegarten, p. 142). A few years later, moving up to the state government level, she won the Texas Treasurer's office in 1982, again breaking ground as the first woman ever to hold the position of Treasurer in Texas, as well as being the first female to win a Texas statewide office in 50 years. Richards gained national (and international) prominence in 1988 with her delivery of the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, the second woman (in 160 years) to deliver the keynote address at her party's convention. In her address, regarding the capabilities of women, she said, “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.” 

In 1990, Richards ran for the Texas governorship, winning in a Democratic runoff against Jim Mattox and then defeating Republican Clayton Williams in the general election. In her inaugural address, delivered on January 15, 1991, she exclaimed, “Welcome to the first day of the new Texas!” Later in the speech, she elaborated on what the “new Texas” entails: “Today we have a vision of a Texas where opportunity knows no race, no gender, no color--a glimpse of the possibilities of what can happen in government if we simply open the doors and let the people in.” 

In her first State of the State address, again emphasizing the “new Texas," Richards promised a progressive administration that would better serve its citizens. She declared: “In a New Texas, there will be no doubt in people's minds that this government is here to serve the people...government will be worthy of the people's trust...We are building a new Texas. A cleaner Texas...a New Texas that is safer and more secure...In a new Texas, we will invest in our most valuable resource--our people...We will also invest in a new Texas economy, an economy that can prosper now and keep on growing as we move into the new century...we will be on the alert for new sources of revenue...we'll be planning for our future.” 

In her first 18 months in office, Richards appointed a record number of women and minorities (37%) to her staff and to positions on state boards and commissions, largely as a result of the aggressive affirmative action policy she established (Winegarten, pp. 142-143). Expanding opportunities for women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to hold positions of leadership was one of Richards’ greatest legacies as governor and also as State Treasurer and Travis County Commissioner.  

Richards promoted business expansion in the state and saved nearly 8,000 jobs statewide in her work with General Motors; she also advocated for public school reform, prison reform, and substance abuse initiatives. She called for ethics reform, which led to the creation of the Texas Ethics Commission. Her initiatives led to the creation of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, which, for the first time, combined the regulatory programs for air, water, and waste (McCall, pp. 102-103). Richards was a strong proponent of clean power and made significant strides towards strengthening major environmental laws during her time as Governor. 

Richards ran for reelection in 1994 but was defeated in her bid for re-election by Republican nominee George W. Bush. Ironically, in her farewell interview with the press corps, Richards said that if she had known that she was going to be a one-term governor, she would have "raised more hell" (McCall, p. 111). 

The Ann Richards Papers and the Ann Richards Oral History Collection are both housed at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin and cover her entire political career. Materials in the collection include over 1,500 cubic feet of correspondence, memoranda, scrapbooks, campaign records, schedules, gubernatorial appointments, legislative files, photographs, video and audiotapes, memorabilia, and artifacts.

To view more photographs of Ann Richards and related materials on the UTA Digital Gallery, visit: https://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/subject/richards-ann-1933-2006

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Sources

"Ann Richards," Texas Archive of the Moving Image, https://www.womenonthemovetx.com/ann-richards.

Mackintosh, Prudence. Just As We Were: A Narrow Slice of Texas Womanhood. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.

McCall, Brian. The Power of the Texas Governor. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009.

“Richards, (Dorothy) Ann (Willis),” Current Biography, volume 52, no. 2, February 1991, 42-45.

Swartz, Mimi. Meet the Governor: Ann Richards. Texas Monthly, October 1990.

Winegarten, Ruthe. Governor Ann Richards & other Texas Women From Indians to Astronauts: A Pictorial History. Austin: Eakin Press, 1993. 

Recommended reading

Reid, Jan. Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012.

Richards, Ann. Straight from the Hearth: My Life in Politics & Other Places. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.

Shropshire, Mike, and Schaefer, Frank. The Thorny Rose of Texas: An Intimate Portrait of Governor Ann Richards. New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1994.