Ann Richards, 73; Texas governor known for her sharp wit

AUSTIN, Texas -- Former governor Ann Richards, who opened the doors of government to women and minorities and won national celebrity with her lively humor and Texas twang, died Wednesday night at her home. She was 73.

She was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in March and underwent chemotherapy treatments.

The second woman to serve as governor of Texas, Mrs. Richards broke tradition by pressing for more diversity within state agencies and pursued a progressive agenda that emphasized ethics, the environment, and insurance reform.

``Ann Richards was the epitome of Texas politics: a figure larger than life who had a gift for captivating the public with her great wit," Governor Rick Perry said Wednesday night. ``She was an endearing and enduring figure in Texas politics. She paved the way as a leader and a role model for women who aspire to the highest levels of leadership. Anita and I are saddened by a loss that will be felt by many. Ann Richards left Texas a better place."

Mrs. Richards was elected governor in 1990 and served for four years before losing to George W. Bush.

During a public appearance several years after leaving office, she was asked about her legacy.

``In looking back on my life, I could of course say the predictable thing: that the greatest thing I've ever done is bear my children and have grandchildren, and all that kind of stuff," she said.

``But the reality is that the greatest part of my life was the opportunity to be in public service, to make a difference for the community I live in, for the state that I love, to be able to try to make things better, whether they turned out in the fashion I expected them to or not."

Mrs. Richards moved into the state's top elected post after a brutal 1990 campaign, defeating West Texas millionaire cowboy Clayton Williams.

Touting a ``New Texas" in which women and minorities would share in the power of government, Mrs. Richards fulfilled a campaign pledge to make appointments of blacks, Hispanics, and women in proportion to their population.

She put her own stamp on the governor's office, both in terms of progressive policies and the physical accoutrements of her second-floor office at the Texas Capitol.

As the state's chief executive, Mrs. Richards ignored past protocol and testified personally before House and Senate committees.

She signed one of the nation's toughest oil-spill cleanup laws and shook up several state agencies, gaining control of the board regulating insurance and attacking lavish spending and questionable practices by the Department of Commerce.

She faced resistance from a more conservative Legislature on several fronts and lost a high-profile battle to overhaul the state's beleaguered school finance system, largely leaving the problem to future administrations.

Sporting a signature Dairy Queen hairdo and a wicked sense of humor, Mrs. Richards burst onto the national political stage in 1988, while state treasurer.

Selected to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, she delivered one of her most famous lines in a drawling put-down of George H.W. Bush, then the vice president.

``Poor George," she said. ``He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."

An only child, Ann Richards was born Dorothy Ann Willis on Sept. 1, 1933, near Waco. She graduated in 1954 from Baylor University, which she attended on a debate scholarship.

In her autobiography, ``Straight From the Heart," she recalled growing up in modest circumstances and encountering sexism and racism as she encountered the largely male bastion of Texas politics.

``Even though no one told me," she wrote, ``there were certain things that you know, and the world knew, that women and girls couldn't do. Running government was one of them. That didn't mean you didn't study or learn about it, it just meant that it didn't apply to you. Any group -- blacks, Hispanics, Asians, females -- knows that. You know what you're allowed to do and what you're not."

She married high school sweetheart David Richards, a local labor lawyer, and the couple moved to Washington, D.C., and later to Dallas and then Austin. They had four children.

Active in Democratic politics, the couple became involved in civil rights and in the campaigns of several liberal candidates.

Seeking elected office herself, Mrs. Richards won a place in 1976 to the Travis County Commission. In 1982, she ran successfully for state treasurer.

Public disclosure of her alcoholism, for which she sought treatment in 1980, and her subsequent divorce were publicized, but they did not cause significant political damage.

``Confronting my alcoholism was probably the hardest thing that anyone could deal with," she once said.

During the 1990 Democratic primary, a challenger charged, without proof, that Mrs. Richards had used illegal drugs. Her refusal to answer the question -- saying it would hurt the recovery efforts of alcohol- and drug-dependent individuals -- became a campaign issue, but did not scuttle her nomination.

As governor, Mrs. Richards could be a tough taskmaster, aides said. At the same time, she made an effort several times each week to chat with students touring the Capitol, inevitably urging them to stay in school and get a good education.

``Someday you're going to look in the mirror, and your hair is going to be as white as mine," she once told a group of elementary school students outside her office. ``And people are not going to hire you because of your good looks. They're going to hire you because of what you have in your brain."

Mrs. Richards leaves her four children -- Cecile, Daniel, Clark, and Ellen -- and eight grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.