Ann Richards was the Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. She was only the second woman to hold that post. In March of his year she said she was being treated for esophageal cancer. She passed away at the age of 73.
Ann Richards seemed like a spunky lady. When she was nearing sixty she rode a Harley-Davidson motorcycle because she said "I thought I needed to do something kind of jazzy." Ann didn't start her political career until she was in her 40's. She won a seat on the Travis County commission in Austin in 1976.
The 1988 Democratic National Convention is when Ann burst onto the scene. At the keynote address she famously described the syntax-challenged Republican presidential nominee, George H.W. Bush, this way: "Poor George. He can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
She eventually was defeated for the re-election of Governor by Bush's son, and future president, George W. Bush. That was the last time she ran for office. She then worked as consultant and commentator and she served on corporate boards.
One quote she liked that she said summed up the aspiration of women in politics: "Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."
