George Frederick Senner Jr. (November 24, 1921 – October 6, 2007) was an American Democratic

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Biography

Senner was born in

Miami, Arizona Miami ( Western Apache: Goshtłʼish Tú) is a town in Gila County, Arizona, United States. Miami is a classic Western copper boom-town. Miami's old downtown has been partly renovated, and the Bullion Plaza Museum features the cultural, min ...

. He graduated from

Miami High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high schools in Miam ...

, where he played football and was president of his senior class. Beginning in May 1942, he served with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

for 27 months in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. He was discharged in October 1945 with the rank of sergeant, after which he resumed his education. In 1952 he earned his law degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and was admitted to the bar in October of that year. Returning to Miami, Senner served as an assistant attorney for the city from 1952 to 1954. In 1954, he won election as county attorney for

Gila County Gila County ( ) is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe. Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona micropolitan statistical area which is incl ...

and served in that office until 1957. In August 1957, he became a member of the

Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the Arizona, State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Constitution of Arizona, Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commission ...

, and served as its chairman from 1958 until 1961. He was elected as a Democrat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

in 1962, representing the newly created 3rd congressional district. Senner voted for many key laws while in Congress, such as the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, the

Social Security Amendments of 1965 The Social Security Amendments of 1965, , was legislation in the United States whose most important provisions resulted in creation of two programs: Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation initially provided federal health insurance for the elde ...

, which introduced

Medicare (United States) Medicare is a federal health insurance program in the United States for people age 65 or older and younger people with disabilities, including those with End Stage Renal Disease Program, end stage renal disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosi ...

and

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

, and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. Though he was re-elected in 1964, he was defeated for re-election in 1966 by Republican

Sam Steiger Samuel Steiger (March 10, 1929September 26, 2012) was an American politician, journalist, political pundit. He served five terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, two terms in the Arizona State Senate, and one term as mayor of Pr ...

. Upon his defeat, Senner returned to the practice of law. He died on October 6, 2007, in

Sun City, Arizona Sun City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population wa ...

References

Retrieved on 2009-02-18
George F. Senner Jr. dies; former congressman
– Obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Senner, George F. Jr. 1921 births 2007 deaths People from Miami, Arizona Lutherans from Arizona Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona 20th-century Lutherans University of Arizona alumni United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

Biography

See also

References