Goodbye Ann, I'm Gonna Miss You Like Hell

One of the leading lights and great role models of my life left the building yesterday. Ann Richards, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in March, died in her home, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was a political and personal hero to many Texas women long before she hit the national spotlight as the keynote speaker at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, "where she was hailed as the brightest star to come from Texas since the rougher-edged LBJ. (Her star turn was unexpected; in April 1988, an aide had scrawled on Richards' desk calendar: "WHAT DOES ANN NEED TO DO TO BE A DELEGATE TO NAT. CONVENTION?")" (Austin-American Statesman)

If you're not a Texas Democrat you may not know Ann as well as you should, the story of how she spent her early years as a "housewife" who feared her tombstone would state only "She kept a really clean house," then entered politics in 1969 via Sarah Weddington's (the lawyer who successfully argued Roe v. Wade case in the Supreme Court) run for the Texas House. When Weddington won the seat, Richards worked as her administrative assistant in the House, then ran for Travis County Commissioner herself in 1976, beginning the career that culminated in her election as governor of the state in 1990. Two stories this morning from Texas papers will bring you up to speed on Richards' life, this one from the Dallas Morning News, and the above-linked story from the Austin-American Statesman (this one may require a brief registration).

I worked as a volunteer on that campaign, and it remains one of the highlights of my life. The enthusiasm and energy she inspired in Democrats, especially women - young and older - were amazing. In person she gave off sparks of energy and hope, an example of where we could go and what we could do. She was funny, honest, as real a human being as ever existed. One of my most cherished possessions is a framed campaign poster that she autographed, it hangs here by my desk as I type. Every time I look at it I feel a hit of that exuberant energy, that million-watt smile lights up the room. As governor she promised to change Texas, and during her four years in office she did just that. For the better. She lost her second run for governor to YouKnowWho over two issues, one environmental (the protection of the Edwards Aquifer) the second a handgun issue. Hey, what can I say, it's still Texas.

Her political legacy is not over, however; she founded the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, to open August 2007 in the Austin school district, to which memorial contributions can be made through the Austin Community Foundation, P.O. Box 5159, Austin, Texas 78763, 512-472-4483, or online at www.austincommunityfoundation.org.

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