He was one of the organizers of the Olongapo Civic Action Group[5] that worked on beautification projects and the general improvement of the city.
He was well respected by US Navy officials and had many friends among the Americans but could not stomach the military regulations that limited the movements of people in Olongapo.
[7] The Zambales provincial officials supported Gordon in this fight to be free of military restrictions.
Buses carrying passengers from the Zambales towns passed through Olongapo and underwent the annoying searches.
The American panel was made up of officials from the US Embassy headed by Minister Abbot and officers from the U.S. Navy.
On the same day President Carlos P. Garcia signed the Executive Order making Olongapo a municipality of Zambales.
They succeeded in placing their own men in sensitive positions in the new municipality because they worked to have officials appointed instead of elected.
Prodded to run for Municipal Mayor during its first election four years after the turnover, James Gordon, though a reluctant candidate, won and was finally at the helm of his town on December 30, 1963.
The situation deteriorated to the extent that Gordon, together with Olongapo residents, struggled hard to be free of the provincial government.
On August 4 of the same year, several prisoners were allowed to escape from the municipal jail of Subic, Zambales.
Three grenades were thrown at the crowd, wounding one US Navy officer who was with the team that helped to control the blaze.
On February 20, 1967, while talking with a constituent on the first floor of city hall, he was gunned down by Nonito Alincastre, an escaped inmate of the National Penitentiary.
He was immediately brought to the USS Repose,[10] a US Navy hospital ship, but he could not be saved because of his massive head injuries.