Ann Richards
Overview
 
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards (September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...

 from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

 of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia from July 18–July 21, 1988 to select a candidate for the 1988 United States presidential election. At the convention Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for President and...

. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was defeated for re-election in 1994 by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. Ann Richards was the second female governor of Texas, and the 39th Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 governor to serve.
Dorothy Ann Willis was born in Lakeview
Lacy-Lakeview, Texas
Lacy Lakeview is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,764 at the 2000 census...

 (now part of Lacy-Lakeview), McLennan County
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....

, the only child of Robert Cecil Willis and Mildred Iona Warren.
Quotations

I am delighted to be here with you this evening, because after listening to George H. W. Bush|George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like.

1988 Democratic National Convention|1988 Democratic National Convention keynote address

… we're going to tell how the cow ate the cabbage.

1988 Democratic National Convention keynote address

Poor George, he can't help it — he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

1988 Democratic National Convention keynote address

The regular Democratic Party and its organization was run by men who looked on women as little more than machine parts.

He was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. [about George H. W. Bush|George Bush, Sr.]

I have seen the very bottom of life: I was so afraid I wouldn’t be funny anymore. I just knew that I would lose my zaniness and my sense of humor. But I didn’t. Recovery turned out to be a wonderful thing.

The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you're not. And the other thing that the public really does like is the self-examination to say, you know, I'm not perfect. I'm just like you. They don't ask their public officials to be perfect. They just ask them to be smart, truthful, honest, and show a modicum of good sense.

Oh, I would probably have raised more hell.

 
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