In November 1905 , city voters elected Langdon as district attorney of San Francisco , and in 1907 re-elected him to a second term . A popular district attorney , Langdon was nominated by the Independence League as its choice for governor in the 1906 elections . Langdon 's presence as a strong third party candidacy won over 14 percent of the vote , proving to be a spoiler vote in a tight race between Democrat Theodore A. Bell and Republican James Gillett . In 1907 , one year after the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake , Langdon carried out the successful prosecutions both of Mayor Eugene Schmitz and political machine operator Abe Ruef for bribery and extortion , along with special assistants Francis J. Heney , Hiram Johnson and Matt Sullivan
San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
William Langdon