McGROARTY, John Steven, a Representative from California; born in Luzerne County, Pa., August 20, 1862; treasurer of Luzerne County, Pa., 1890-1893; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1894 and commenced practice in Wilkes-Barre; moved to Montana 1896-1901; moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1901 and engaged in journalism; elected poet laureate of California by the State legislature in 1933; author of numerous books and dramas; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Congresses (January 3, 1935-January 3, 1939); resumed the profession of journalism in Tujunga, Los Angeles County, Calif.; died in Los Angeles, Calif., August 7, 1944.

See individual page on this site for a more detailed biography.

Daniel McGroarty served as Special Assistant to President George H.W. Bush and Deputy Director of White House Speechwriting. During his tenure at the White House, he wrote more than 200 speeches for the President on all matters foreign and domestic, including President Bush's first State of the Union, the President's televised speech on the first night of Operation Desert Storm, and his speech to the Joint Session of Congress at the conclusion of the conflict.

He is author of President Bush's address at the Pieterskirk in Leiden, The Netherlands (1989), selected for the Library of Congress anthology of Historic Presidential Speeches of the 20th Century.

Prior to serving at the White House, he held the position of Senior Speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci III, and Speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger.

Mr. McGroarty also serves as Adjunct Professor at the George Washington Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C. and Senior Fellow with the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation. He is the author of two books: Break These Chains: The Battle for School Choice, selected as one of 25 titles on politics recognized by the National Press Club, and Trinnietta Gets a Chance; Six Families and Their School Choice Experience, cited in briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark 2002 voucher ruling. His essays and opeds on current issues have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Public Interest, National Review, The Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, Investor's Business Daily, Policy Review and The American Spectator.

He is also a frequent commentator on presidential speeches on CNN, MSNBC and other news channels.

John, William and Charles McGroarty came to Inver Grove, MN in 1852. They were originally from Keelogs, Inver.

William served in the Minnesota Legislature in 1858 and later served in the Civil War, but he drowned crossing the Mississippi River while returning to his regiment.

John was active in local politics in the early years, and is credited with naming Inver Grove, for the many families who settled there from that area. All have descendants in the area.

McGroarty says his legacy will be
flood-protection projects
About 60 city hall employees, family members and close friends gathered for a luncheon Monday at Genetti's Hotel to honor outgoing Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom McGroarty, who was also celebrating his 41st birthday. Having experienced a rising tide of city financial problems that led to him losing his bid for a third term last May, the mayor remained upbeat about his accomplishments over the last eight years