Despite having been heavily praised by the public for his handling of the state bureaucracy during the 1906 disaster , Pardee continued to have a strained relationship with the Southern Pacific Railroad , one that had been ongoing since the 1890s while he was Mayor of Oakland . Pardee 's role in the burgeoning Progressive movement which distrusted large corporate monopolies , as well as his efforts to conserve and protect state forests , remained a constant thorn for Southern Pacific executives . A lengthy bitter battle over the Port of Oakland , which Pardee argued on behalf of Oakland that the port was a municipal rather than private corporation , dragged out for much of his governorship . The case was decided upon by the California Supreme Court in 1906 , ruling in Oakland 's favor . Pardee also encouraged creation of new railroad companies to break the Southern Pacific 's monopolies
1906 disaster
1906 San Francisco earthquake
George Pardee