William D. Stephens
Stephens,c. 1920–1925
24th Governor of California
In office March 15, 1917 – January 8, 1923
Lieutenant	Arthur H. Breed Sr. C. C. Young
Preceded by	Hiram Johnson
Succeeded by	Friend Richardson
27th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office July 22, 1916 – March 15, 1917
Governor	Hiram Johnson
Preceded by	John Morton Eshleman
Succeeded by	C. C. Young
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office March 4, 1911 – July 22, 1916
Preceded by	James McLachlan
Succeeded by	Henry S. Benedict
Constituency	7th district(1911–1913) 10th district(1913–1916)
27th Mayor of Los Angeles
In office March 15, 1909 – March 26, 1909
Preceded by	Arthur C. Harper
Succeeded by	George Alexander
Personal details
Born	William Dennison Stephens (1859-12-26)December 26, 1859 Eaton, Ohio
Died	April 25, 1944(1944-04-25) (aged 84) Los Angeles, California
Resting place	Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles
Party	Republican Progressive
Spouse	Flora E. Rawson
Children	Barbara Zane
Profession	Engineer,politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1904–1914
Rank	Major
Unit	California Army National Guard

William Dennison Stephens (December 26, 1859 – April 25, 1944) was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of theU.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was the 24thgovernor of California from 1917 to 1923. Prior to becoming Governor, Stephens served as the 27thlieutenant governor of California from 1916 to 1917, due to the death ofJohn Morton Eshleman, and served a brief time asMayor of Los Angeles in 1909 due to the resignation ofArthur C. Harper. He served as the 27thMayor of Los Angeles in 1909.

As governor, he was aProgressive who kept the reforms of his predecessor,Hiram Johnson, and remained visible throughout his governorship. He lost a bid for re-nomination in 1922 toCalifornia State TreasurerFriend William Richardson, who campaigned as a conservative.

Stephens was born inEaton, Ohio, on December 26, 1859. He was the third child out of a total of nine children born to Martin and Alvira Stephens. With ambitions to become alawyer, Stephens studied earnestly in law to become a lawyer, yet family fortunes required all of his earnings to go to his family instead.

Following his graduation from Eaton High School in 1876, Stephens had worked for three years as a school teacher before joining the railroad business to become an engineer. Between 1880 and 1887, Stephens helped survey the construction of railroads in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Louisiana.^[1] His days in the railroads came to an end in 1887 when his mother, Alvira, now falling ill, sought a hot and drier climate to improve her health. The Stephens family, including William, relocated to Los Angeles that year, though Alvira would be dead within a year.

After relocating to Los Angeles, Stephens began to work as a traveling salesman and later as a grocery manager. In 1891, Stephens married Flora E. Rawson (1869–1931). In 1902, he became a partner in Carr and Stephens Groceries, giving Stephens wide name recognition throughout Los Angeles. Increasingly, Stephens became involved in business and municipal politics, serving on the board of directors of theLos Angeles Chamber of Commerce from 1902 to 1911, as well as being elected to theLos Angeles Board of Education from 1906 to 1907. Stephens further served on the Los Angeles Board of Water Commissioners, working alongsideWilliam Mulholland in an advisory committee for the construction of theLos Angeles Aqueduct.

In 1906, Stephens served briefly as a major in theCalifornia Army National Guard during theSan Francisco earthquake as part of the First Brigade. In 1909, he became vice president of theAmerican National Bank.

FollowingLos Angeles MayorArthur C. Harper's resignation from office shortly before a crucialrecall election, Stephens was appointed to replace Harper on March 15, 1909, becoming the city's 27th mayor. Stephens' mayoralty lasted for less than two weeks beforeGeorge Alexander, the winner of the election, assumed the office.^[2]

After his brief stint as mayor of Los Angeles, Stephens entered the realm of federal politics. In1910, Stephens was elected as aRepublican to theU.S. House of Representatives from the7th district, after defeating his fellow Republican, incumbentJames McLachlan, in theprimary. Due to redistricting, Stephens changed constituencies to the newly created10th district for the1912 election, which he also won. During this period, Stephens increasingly identified himself as a member of theProgressive movement, becoming a member of theProgressive Party, led by former presidentTheodore Roosevelt andCalifornia GovernorHiram Johnson. Stephens was one of 13 Progressives to be elected to the U.S. House in the 1910s; four of them (including himself) came from California. He successfully defended his seat again in1914, winning a third term in the House. Stephens would continue as a member of the Progressive Party until its dissolution in 1916, when he rejoined the Republican Party.

FollowingLieutenant GovernorJohn Morton Eshleman's death from tuberculosis on February 28, 1916, Governor Hiram Johnson sought a replacement for his subordinate. By mid-year, Johnson had selected Stephens as Eshleman's successor, forcing him to resign his U.S. House seat and assume the position of lieutenant governor on July 22.

Stephens' tenure as lieutenant governor was short-lived. Governor Johnson was elected to theU.S. Senate in November,1916, leaving the governorship to his recently installed lieutenant governor. Johnson submitted his resignation to take his Senate seat on March 15, 1917, with Stephens succeeding him to become California's 24th governor.

Nearly immediately, Stephens faced controversy regarding thePreparedness Day Bombing, a terrorist attack on the San Francisco Preparedness Day parade on July 22, 1916 (the day Stephens had become lieutenant governor). The attack was blamed on left wing radicals, in particular formerIndustrial Workers of the World memberThomas Mooney, and his alleged accomplice, Warren Billings. Both Mooney and Billings were convicted, though critics said later that the trial was conducted in a lynch mob atmosphere. Governor Stephens supported both convictions. However, international sympathy for Mooney quickly spread, making him one of theUnited States's most famous political prisoners. There was national and international pressure on Stephens to intervene for Mooney. PresidentWoodrow Wilson personally telegraphed Stephens to ask him to review the case against Mooney. Stephens yielded, but only slightly, commuting Mooney's death sentence to life imprisonment.

Despite this slight clemency, militant labor radicals continued to pressure Stephens, resulting in threats, and eventually, actions of violence. On the evening of December 17, 1917,a dynamite bomb exploded at the foot of the Governor's Mansion inSacramento. Although Stephens was not injured, the explosion caused considerable damage to the kitchen. Radicals from the IWW were later blamed for the attack. In an unrelated threat, labor radicals also threatened to destroy both theCalifornia State Capitol and theGovernor's Mansion if a $50,000 ransom was not met.^[3]

Stephens responded to threats from labor radicals, and to subversion worries during World War I, with the 1919California Criminal Syndicalism Act, targeting radical labor unionists and their advocacy of violent confrontation with state authorities.^[3] Despite numerous threats on his life and state property, Stephens refused to pardon Thomas Mooney for the remainder of his administration. Mooney was eventually pardoned byDemocratic governorCulbert Olson in 1939.

A Progressive like his predecessor Hiram Johnson, Stephens chose not to expand on the reforms made by Johnson. Instead, Stephens sought to keep the electoral and bureaucratic reforms already put in place.^[4]

In the 1918 state general election, Stephens won renomination for the Republican Party, campaigning on a platform to solidify Progressive reforms within the state government. He easily won the election, trouncing independent and former Democratic nomineeTheodore A. Bell by a 20% margin. Other candidates included RepublicanMayor of San FranciscoJames Rolph, who appeared as awrite-in candidate at 3%, and Henry H. Roser of theSocialist Party of America with 4.2%.^[5]

After his successful election to a full four-year term as governor, Stephens grew increasingly concerned over the needs of returning World War I veterans. Stephens argued that the state government had a mandate to provide benefits for returning veterans, such as government-sponsored retraining and funds to help re-employment. Through his advocacy, a veteran assistance program was established. During the same time period, Stephens also supported state and federalprohibition of alcohol.

Like his predecessor Hiram Johnson, Stephens remained highly suspicious of Asian immigration to California, especially fromJapan, which he viewed as an increasingly belligerent nation. In 1919, Stephens openly urged theCalifornia State Legislature to enact stricter exclusion laws to restrict Japanese immigrants. He declared that the influx of Japanese was a threat not only to California but to the United States.^[6] Through the remainder of his governorship, Stephens sought the aid of other governors and public officials to restrict Japanese immigration. In part, some of his goals were realized by the federalImmigration Act of 1924.

Despite threats on his life, Stephens remained publicly visible throughout his governorship. He was part of the general welcoming committee whenEdward, Prince of Wales, arrived aboardHMS Renown inSan Diego Bay in 1920, during the future British monarch's first visit to California.^[7] Stephens was also present when his daughter, Barbara (Mrs. Randolph T.) Zane, ceremonially launched the battleshipUSS California.

During his governorship, Stephens realized his lifelong dream by passing the California Bar to become a lawyer.

In the final months of his governorship, Stephens vetoed bills that would deregulate state utilities, vowing to keep Johnson's Progressive reforms.^[4]

In 1922, Stephens sought another term as governor. However, Republican ranks had grown decidedly more conservative since 1918. He lost the Republican gubernatorial primary toCalifornia State TreasurerFriend William Richardson.

After failing in his bid for renomination, Stephens returned to Los Angeles to establish a law practice. He would never again hold public office, though he remained active in public affairs.

He died on April 25, 1944, at Santa Fe Hospital in Los Angeles of a heart ailment. He was 84 years old. He is interred inAngelus-Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWilliam Dennison Stephens.

• Governors of California profile of William Stephens
• Internet Accuracy Project profile of Governor William Stephens
• Los Angeles in the 1900s: Mayor William D. Stephens, obituaries and photos

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