Dorothy Ann Richards (1 September 1933-13 September 2006) was the Democratic Governor of Texas from 15 January 1991 to 17 January 1995, succeeding Bill Clements and preceding George W. Bush.
Biography[]
Dorothy Ann Willis was born in Lacy Lakeview, McLennan County, Texas in 1933, and she was raised in Waco. She campaigned for liberal and progressive Democratic politicians before being elected a Travis County commissioner from 1976 and serving as State Treasurer from 1983 to 1991. Richards delivered a nominating speech for Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential election and delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, and, in 1990, she was elected Governor of Texas with 49.5% of the vote. As Governor, she oversaw the recovery of her state's economic fortunes, reformed the prison system, established a substance abuse program for inmates, reduced the number of violent offenders released, increased the size of Texas' prisons to accommodate a growing prison population, backed proposals to reduce the sale of semi-automatic firearms and "cop-killer" bullets in the state, and attempted to make funding more equitable across Texas' school districts. She was defeated for re-election by the Republican George W. Bush in 1994 by a margin of 45.88% to 53.48%, occurring amid the "Republican Revolution". She continued to be an activist for liberal causes until her death from cancer in 2006.