 While the excesses of this era led to the populist reforms of the early 20th century, the ability of this powerful group of interests to control California politics was seldom successfully challenged in the 19th century.1898 saw the creation of the League of California Cities, modeled after similar associations which worked to combat corruption in city governments, and to advocate for city interests at the state level.The following is a list of American governors of California, elected to office by 1899.