Ann Richards died yesterday.

I usually don't get worked up about celebrities and politicians dying. Especially celebrities past a certain age. Everyone's gotta go at some point or another, I figure.

So I'll note the death silently, and move on.

But I feel strongly that I have to say something about Ann Richards, that I have to end my hiatus a little earlier than planned and spend a few moments explaining to those of you outside of Texas--or even inside of Texas--what this remarkable woman meant to another Texas woman.

Ms. Richards was the State Treasurer the first time I became aware of her. She came to my highschool to speak a few times. And she was always witty and funny and smart. I realize now that all of our parents were potential contributors and donors but she treated us--the students--with respect, and she instilled in me, at least, a sense that giving back to the community is important.

I don't think I knew that she was the first woman elected to statewide office in forever and ever, but I knew that she was important. More importantly, she was captivating. Having since heard a LOT of political types speak, I realize how important, and how rare, that quality is. She made you pay attention to what she had to say. Her enthusiasm was inspiring. Her sense of humor made you look forward to what she would have to say next.

I don't know if ya'll know this, but being a progressive in Texas isn't the easiest thing in the world to be. But Ann Richards was progressive. And she was totally unashamed and unabashed about it. She wore her feminism on her sleeve. She espoused her views on minorities loudly and proudly. And maybe that cost her later on down the line. If it did, I think she would have been happy to lose.

I was out of Texas for most of her governorship. But if you read the Wiki on her, you'll see that a lot of good things happened here when bad things were going on in other states in the early nineties. Maybe some bad things too. The prison system doubled under her eye. I don't know if that's good or bad or just a reflection of the law and order state that is Texas. But she appointed good people into positions of power all over this State and made our government more reflective of the people who live here.

I was out of the country during the 1994 campaign. It wasn't a banner year for Democrats all over the country, and it seems to be the beginning of the end of Democrats in Texas. I remember hearing the news that she'd lost the election to George W. Bush and being shocked, since he seemed so inept, so ineloquent in comparison to her. He seemed unworthy to have unseated her. Some blame her veto of the concealed gun law. Others say it was just the Republican revolution of 94. I wasn't here, but I was sad.

The thing about Ann Richards, for me, is that she seemed to be unafraid of being who she was. She was a mother. And an alcoholic. And a politician. And a Texan. And a Democrat. And a woman. What could have been significant strikes against her she turned into positive things or, at least, refused to hide. She wasn't perfect. I've heard that she was fairly difficult to work with in Austin. But she was what she was.

That sort of attitude, that pride in being a progressive in a state that fights against progress, shone as a becon to me. I could look at this woman and take pride that she represents me. I could point to this woman when contemporaries from the coasts sneered at my beloved state. I could be proud to be a progressive Texan and not at all feel conflicted in my loyalties. I could be an uppity woman and not retreat when people started attacking me.

I don't see any of that much anymore in Texas politics, especially the Democrats. I'm sure my fellow bloggers will correct me with some great people, but Senfronia Thompson is the only one I can think of with that sort of charisma and ability to make people like me be proud of someone else's conviction. I look at the candidates in Texas and I dispair that we've gone from Ann Richards and Ralph Yarborough and Bob Bullock to hoping that one day we can actually win a statewide position.

When I was reading the Wiki article this morning, I saw the following:

In 2006, the Austin Independent School District announced "The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders," a college preparatory school for girls, with grades 6-12 which will open in the fall of 2007. The intellectual focus will be math, science and technology, while the physical focus is building strength through good nutrition, exercise and other wellness strategies.

I commented to someone that I was talking with over IM as I read this that if I had daughters and I lived in Austin, this is the school I would fight tooth and nail to send them to. I read the Chronicle obituary later on this morning, and I discovered that the family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Austin Community Foundation in support of the school. I cannot think of a more fitting memorial for a woman who cared so much for the women of Texas.

If you have any of Molly Ivins's books, there are some wonderful stories about Ann in them. Read them and smile.

Goodbye Ann. You will be sorely missed in this state.

Tags: politics: texas