Lawrence James Flaherty (July 4, 1878 – June 13, 1926) was an American cement mason, labor leader and politician who served part of one term as a U.S. representative from California from 1925 until his death in 1926.
Early life Born in San Mateo, California, Flaherty moved with his parents to San Francisco in 1888. He attended public school and learned the trade of a cement mason, joining the Cement Workers' Union No. 580 and serving 17 years as its business agent.
Early political career
An active member of the Union Labor Party, Flaherty was appointed a member of the San Francisco Board of Police Commissioners by mayor P. H. McCarthy, serving from May to December 1911. He was then elected to the California State Senate in 1914 as a Progressive Republican, serving from 1915 to 1923, during which he was an ally of Governor Hiram Johnson and won the "highest rating for labor record ever attained by any member of that body." The San Francisco Call listed the most important legislation he sponsored as follows:
Flaherty also served as president of the San Francisco Building Trades Council from 1921 to 1926. He was appointed United States surveyor of customs for the port of San Francisco on November 1, 1921, and served until March 3, 1925, when he resigned, having been elected to Congress.
Congressional career and death Flaherty was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-ninth Congress and served from March 4, 1925, until his death in New York City on June 13, 1926, aged 47. He had suffered from ill health since shortly after his election.
Internment Flaherty was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, near San Mateo, California.
Electoral history
See also List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)
References
External links
Join California Lawrence J. Flaherty