George Herman Mahon (September 22, 1900 – November 19, 1985) was a Texas politician who served twenty-two consecutive terms (1935–1979) as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the Lubbock-based 19th congressional district. He was a member of the Democratic Party. His legacies include the development of federal farm programs, the establishment of the former Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock and Webb Air Force Base in Big Spring, leadership in the development of Interstate 27, a short connection between Amarillo and Lubbock, and disaster relief during droughts and tornadoes common to West Texas. Background Mahon was born to John Kirkpatrick Mahon and the former Lola Willis in the Mahon community near Haynesville in Claiborne Parish in northern Louisiana near the Arkansas state line. In 1908, Mahon's family moved to Loraine in Mitchell County, Texas, where young George graduated from Loraine High School. In 1924, he received his bachelor's degree from Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. He married the Helen Stevenson in 1923, and they had one daughter, Daphne. In 1925, Mahon graduated from the University of Texas Law School in Austin. Mahon joined a friend, Charlie Thompson, in the opening of a law firm in Colorado City. He was elected county attorney for Mitchell County, Texas in 1926. Thereafter, Governor Dan Moody named Mahon district attorney of the thirty-second judicial district of Texas, a position which he held from 1927 to 1933, having been elected once after the initial gubernatorial appointment. Congressional tenure Mahon was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1934, when he defeated Clark Millican of Lubbock in the runoff election for the seat. Lubbock residents, including Charles A. Guy, the editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, urged that the seat go to a Lubbock resident – Millican – because Lubbock is the largest city in the district. Rural areas, however, coalesced behind Mahon. Once in office, Mahon cemented his hold on Lubbock as well as the whole district and rarely had opposition in his reelection campaigns. In its 2008 centennial, the Avalanche-Journal declared Mahon the most influential figure in Lubbock's 20th century history. Mahon was a delegate to each Democratic National Convention from 1936 to 1964, having participating in the nomination of all party standard-bearers from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1964 until his retirement from the House in 1979. Known