A Guide to the Ann W. Richards Papers, Home Page

Biographical Note

Born on September 1, 1933, in Lakeview, Texas, Dorothy Ann Willis (Ann Richards) was the only child of Cecil and Iona Willis. The family moved to and settled in Waco, Texas, and in 1946 Ann entered Waco High School where she earned a reputation as a skilled orator and member of the debate team. She subsequently enrolled at Baylor University in Waco on a debate scholarship and married her high school sweetheart, David Richards, in 1953. Upon graduation in 1954 the couple moved to Austin, where David attended the University of Texas School of Law and Ann taught government at Fullmore Junior High. They later moved to Dallas, became active in local liberal politics, and had four children: Cecile, Dan, Clark, and Ellen.

The Richards family returned to Austin in 1969, where David became a successful labor and civil rights attorney. Ann became increasingly involved in local politics and managed the campaign of Wilhelmina Delco, who became the first African American to represent Austin in the Texas Legislature. Ann served as Sarah Weddington's campaign manager during a run for the Texas Legislature and also worked on Gonzalo Barrientos' campaign for the Texas House. Finally, in 1976, Richards herself sought public office and was elected the first female Travis County (metropolitan Austin) Commissioner. 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 prominence in 1988 with her delivery of the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. In 1990 she ran for the Texas governorship, winning in a Democratic runoff against Jim Mattox and then defeating Republican Clayton Williams in the general election. As governor, Richards appointed unprecedented numbers of women and minorities to state posts. She also advocated public school reform, prison reform, and substance abuse initiatives. Richards sought to streamline the state budget through state government audits and also worked to attract business and manufacturing to Texas. In a contentious campaign for re-election in 1994, Richards was defeated by Republican George W. Bush. From 1995 to 2001 she was retained as a Senior Advisor at the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. Starting in 2001, she worked for Public Strategies, Inc., a public relations and marketing firm specializing in public awareness campaigns. In March 2006, Richards announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. She died on September 13, 2006. She is survived by her four children and their families.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Portions of this collection are restricted.

All official records from Richards' term as governor and treasurer are open for research unless otherwise specified in the finding aid. Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act, a staff member must review these records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code Chapter 552). The researcher may contact the repository for more information. See series descriptions in the gubernatorial and treasury records for specific restrictions due to exceptions to public disclosure in the Public Information Act [formerly Open Records Act]. (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.)

Use Restrictions

Portions of this collection are stored remotely; advance notice is required for retrieval; contact repository for retrieval.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Ann W. Richards Papers, 1933-2000, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Collection