Ann Richards (1933-2006) was a vital figure in Texas politics.
Born in Lakeview, Texas, she earned a bachelor’s from Baylor University and initially taught history.
Later, Richards delved into political activism, championing civil rights and economic justice.
Her political journey started as a Travis county commissioner in 1976. By 1982, she became Texas’s first female statewide officer in 50 years, revolutionizing treasury operations as state treasurer.
Richards’ 1988 keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention bolstered her national recognition.
As Texas governor, she prioritized government efficiency, education and law enforcement, expanding prisons and launching prison substance abuse programs.
Notably, Richards appointed numerous women and minorities, supported the state lottery and oversaw NAFTA’s passage.
Though George W. Bush defeated her in 1994, she continued advocating for liberal causes and women’s health until 2006.
Ann Richards served as the Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995.
I have listed below some of the best quotes by Ann Richards.
Best Ann Richards Quotes
I get a lot of cracks about my hair, mostly from men who don’t have any. ~ Ann Richards.
A road to a friend’s house is never long. ~ Ann Richards.
Teaching was the hardest work I had ever done, and it remains the hardest work I have done to date. ~ Ann Richards.
I’m not afraid to shake up the system, and government needs more shaking up than any other system I know. ~ Ann Richards.
We saw farms go on the auction block while we bought food from foreign countries. Well, that’s wrong. ~ Ann Richards.
Doctors are our partners, and they need all the assistance we can give them to be sure we get the right diagnosis. ~ Ann Richards.
July does not a November election make. ~ Ann Richards.
If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don’t, you’re simply ducking your responsibilities. ~ Ann Richards.
There is a lot more to this life than just the struggle to make money. ~ Ann Richards.
I believe in recovery, and I believe that as a role model I have the responsibility to let young people know that you can make a mistake and come back from it. ~ Ann Richards.
Famous Ann Richards Quotes
I had such high expectations of myself. I was going to be the best mother, the best housewife, the best entertainer, the best nurse, you know – what it was, I was going to be the best. And I could never live up to my expectations. ~ Ann Richards.
Power is what calls the shots, and power is a white male game. ~ Ann Richards.
I was born during the Depression in a little community just outside Waco, and I grew up listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio. ~ Ann Richards.
Oh, I would probably have raised more hell. ~ Ann Richards.
You can put lipstick and earrings on a hog and call it Monique, but it’s still a pig. ~ Ann Richards.
Because where I grew up there wasn’t much tolerance for self-importance. ~ Ann Richards.
I’ve always told my children that life is like a layer cake. You get to put one layer on top of the other, and whether you frost it or not is up to you. ~ Ann Richards.
This Republican Administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that can’t fit together. ~ Ann Richards.
Now we Democrats believe that America is still the country of fair play, that we can come out of a small town or a poor neighborhood and have the same chance as anyone else, and it doesn’t matter whether we are black or Hispanic, or disabled or women. ~ Ann Richards.
Top Ann Richards Quotes
We’re living in a whole new social and economic order with a whole new set of problems and challenges. Old assumptions and old programs don’t work in this new society and the more we try to stretch them to make them fit, the more we will be seen as running away from what is reality. ~ Ann Richards.
I feel very strongly that change is good because it stirs up the system. ~ Ann Richards.
I’ve always said that in politics, your enemies can’t hurt you, but your friends will kill you. ~ Ann Richards.
Young women should begin to build bone mass early in their lives. The more mass there is, the less they will lose in later life. They should enjoy a diet of calcium-rich foods and avoid food and drink that causes bone loss. ~ Ann Richards.
Learn to enjoy your own company. You are the one person you can count on living with for the rest of your life. ~ Ann Richards.
People don’t know that New York really is just made up of a group of very small neighborhoods. ~ Ann Richards.
Weight-bearing exercise builds bone density, builds your muscular strength so that you can hold your body up where those bones have a tendency to get weak. ~ Ann Richards.
Cherish your friends and family as if your life depended on it. Because it does. ~ Ann Richards.
Popular Ann Richards Quotes
Let me tell you, sisters, seeing dried egg on a plate in the morning is a lot dirtier than anything I’ve had to deal with in politics. ~ Ann Richards.
I think you have to deal with grief in the sense that you have to recognize that you have it, and say that it’s OK to have all the sadness. ~ Ann Richards.
One of the truths of our time is the hunger deep in people are over the planet for coming into relationship with each other. ~ Ann Richards.
Well, you know my number one cause has always been that women’s reproductive health needs to be protected. ~ Ann Richards.
I have very strong feelings about how you lead your life. You always look ahead, you never look back. ~ Ann Richards.
After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels. ~ Ann Richards.
If you can’t fill the till, then don’t pass the bill. ~ Ann Richards.
They blame the low income women for ruining the country because they are staying home with their children and not going out to work. They blame the middle income women for ruining the country because they go out to work and do not stay home to take care of their children. ~ Ann Richards.
Great Ann Richards Quotes
I have always had the feeling I could do anything and my dad told me I could. I was in college before I found out he might be wrong. ~ Ann Richards.
Jesse Jackson is a leader and a teacher who can open our hearts and open our minds and stir our very souls. ~ Ann Richards.
I’m against an income tax because all the rich people hire lawyers and accountants to be sure that they don’t pay income tax. ~ Ann Richards.
I’ve been tested by fire, and the fire lost. ~ Ann Richards.
We’re not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth – not most days, but every day. ~ Ann Richards.
I thought I knew Texas pretty well, but I had no notion of its size until I campaigned it. ~ Ann Richards.
There is a lot more to life than just struggling to make money. ~ Ann Richards.
I have a real soft spot in my heart for librarians and people who care about books. ~ Ann Richards.
We have forgotten to be our brothers and sisters keepers. And we have forgotten that the Number 1 goal is to love one another. ~ Ann Richards.
You bet being funny helps accomplish things. I’ve always maintained that people don’t realize how many brain cells it takes to be funny. And politics ought to be fun – after baseball it’s our next favorite national pastime. ~ Ann Richards.
So these were the 47 top quotes about Ann Richards.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Sheila Jackson Lee quotes and Jason Reynolds quotes.
