Ann Richards, the flamboyant, feisty ex-Governor of Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Former Governor Ann Richards, the witty and flamboyant Democrat who went from homemaker to national political celebrity, has died after a battle with cancer.

She was 73. Richards was found to have oesophageal cancer in March and underwent chemotherapy treatments.The silver-haired, silver-tongued Richards said she entered politics to help others – especially women and minorities who were often ignored by Texas’ male-dominated establishment.”I did not want my tombstone to read, ‘She kept a really clean house’.I think I’d like them to remember me by saying, ‘She opened government to everyone’,” Richards said shortly before leaving office in January 1995.She was governor for one term, losing her re-election bid to now-US President George W Bush.”Texas has lost one of its great daughters,” Bush said in statement after learning of Richards’ death.”Ann loved Texas, and Texans loved her,” Bush said.”As a public servant, she earned respect and admiration.Ann became a national role model, and her charm, wit and candour brought a refreshing vitality to public life.”Richards was a staunch supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and helped get the measure to expand legal protections for women passed in Texas, although the amendment failed to garner enough national support to be added to the US Constitution.In 1988, She grabbed the national spotlight with her keynote address at the Democratic National Convention when she was the Texas state treasurer.Richards won cheers from delegates when she reminded them that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, “only backwards and in high heels”.Richards sealed her partisan reputation with a blast at George HW Bush, a fellow Texan who was vice president at the time: “Poor George, he can’t help it.He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”Four years later, she was chairwoman of the Democratic convention that nominated Bill Clinton for president.Richards rose to the governorship with a come-from-behind victory over millionaire cowboy Clayton Williams in 1990.She cracked a half-century male grip on the governor’s mansion and celebrated by holding up a T-shirt that showed the state Capitol and read: ‘A woman’s place is in the dome’.In four years as governor, Richards championed what she called the ‘New Texas’, appointing more women and more minorities to state posts than any of her predecessors.She followed her 1989 autobiography, ‘Straight from the Heart’, with another memoir in 2004, ‘I’m Not Slowing Down’, which chronicled her struggle with osteoporosis.Nampa-AP-ReutersRichards was found to have oesophageal cancer in March and underwent chemotherapy treatments.The silver-haired, silver-tongued Richards said she entered politics to help others – especially women and minorities who were often ignored by Texas’ male-dominated establishment.”I did not want my tombstone to read, ‘She kept a really clean house’.I think I’d like them to remember me by saying, ‘She opened government to everyone’,” Richards said shortly before leaving office in January 1995.She was governor for one term, losing her re-election bid to now-US President George W Bush.”Texas has lost one of its great daughters,” Bush said in statement after learning of Richards’ death.”Ann loved Texas, and Texans loved her,” Bush said.”As a public servant, she earned respect and admiration.Ann became a national role model, and her charm, wit and candour brought a refreshing vitality to public life.”Richards was a staunch supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and helped get the measure to expand legal protections for women passed in Texas, although the amendment failed to garner enough national support to be added to the US Constitution.In 1988, She grabbed the national spotlight with her keynote address at the Democratic National Convention when she was the Texas state treasurer.Richards won cheers from delegates when she reminded them that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, “only backwards and in high heels”.Richards sealed her partisan reputation with a blast at George HW Bush, a fellow Texan who was vice president at the time: “Poor George, he can’t help it.He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”Four years later, she was chairwoman of the Democratic convention that nominated Bill Clinton for president.Richards rose to the governorship with a come-from-behind victory over millionaire cowboy Clayton Williams in 1990.She cracked a half-century male grip on the governor’s mansion and celebrated by holding up a T-shirt that showed the state Capitol and read: ‘A woman’s place is in the dome’.In four years as governor, Richards championed what she called the ‘New Texas’, appointing more women and more minorities to state posts than any of her predecessors.She followed her 1989 autobiography, ‘Straight from the Heart’, with another memoir in 2004, ‘I’m Not Slowing Down’, which chronicled her struggle with osteoporosis.Nampa-AP-Reuters