briefly as a major in the California Army National Guard during the San Francisco earthquake as part of the First Brigade. In 1909, he became vice president of the American National Bank. Following Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper's resignation from office shortly before a crucial recall election, Stephens was appointed Mayor of the city on March 15, 1909, becoming the city's 27th mayor. Stephens' mayoralty lasted for less than two weeks before George Alexander, the winner of the election, assumed the office. After his brief stint as Mayor of Los Angeles, Stephens entered the realm of federal politics. In the 1910 elections, Stephens was elected as a Republican for the 7th congressional district to the U.S. House of Representatives. Due to redistricting, Stephens changed constituencies to the newly created 10th congressional district for the 1912 elections, which he also won. During this time period, Stephens increasingly identified himself as a member of the Progressive movement, becoming a member of the Progressive Party, led by former president Theodore Roosevelt and California Governor Hiram Johnson. Stephens was one of the 13 Progressives to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1910s, four of which (including himself) came from California. He successfully defended his seat again in the 1914 elections, winning a consecutive third term to the House. Stephens would continue to identify himself as a member of the Progressive Party until the party's dissolution in 1916, when he rejoined the Republican Party. Following Lieutenant Governor John 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 seat from the federal House and assume the position of lieutenant governor on July 22. Stephens' position as lieutenant governor was short lived. Governor Johnson himself was elected to the U.S. Senate in the 1916 elections, leaving the governorship open to the recently installed lieutenant governor. Johnson submitted his resignation to take his Senate seat on March 15, 1917, with Stephens, fulfilling his duties as lieutenant governor, to assume the governorship, making him the state's 24th governor. Governorship Nearly immediately, Stephens faced controversy regarding the Preparedness Day Bombing, a terrorist attack on the San Francisco Preparedness Day parade on July 22, 1916. The attack was blamed on left wing radicals, in particular former Industrial Workers of the World member Thomas