Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, dies

Former democratic governor of Texas, Ann Richards died late Wednesday. Richards served as Texas’ highest ranking official from 1991-95. She had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in early March.

As governor Ann Richards worked to expand rights for minorities and women, sought education reform and established a state lottery as a means of funding public schools. Richards took on the Texas prison system and instituted substance abuse programs for inmates and kept violent criminals behind bars longer.

The silver haired Richards was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1988 and was the chair of the convention in 1992 when Bill Clinton won the Democratic Party nomination.

Ann Richards was 73.