Louis Bartlett was a lawyer and Mayor of Berkeley, California who was known for his work around public utilities. He was born in San Francisco and raised in Alameda and spoke French as a first language. He later went on to graduate from the University of California as well as UC Hastings School of Law and was admitted to the bar in the late-1890s. As a lawyer he worked with William H. Langdon on cases such as the "Hindu conspiracy" and then moved on to running for Berkeley mayor in 1919 where he created the East Bay Municipal Utility District. He also campaigned for the California Water and Power Act, the Central Valley Project and attempted to establish a "TVA" for California in 1940. In this interview, Bartlett discusses his family history, education, travelling to Alaska on the US Fish Commission steamer Albatross in 1888, Washington Bartlett, politics of San Francisco and the Bay Area, 1880-90s, 1906 earthquake and fire, campaign for mayorship, the creation of EBMUD, California and water, irrigation districts and Governor Olson. This interview is part of a group of interviews documenting regional cultural history.