were rampant. Land problems proliferated. The new officials tried to lease out the electrical utility for only P5,000.00 a month. Heavy equipment like bulldozers which had been acquired from the US Navy could not be accounted for. 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. A City is born The situation deteriorated to the extent that Gordon, together with Olongapo residents, struggled hard to be free of the provincial government. He lobbied in Congress for the passage of a bill to convert the municipality into a City. Amidst strong opposition from the provincial government but to the triumphant rejoicing of the people of Olongapo, RA 4645, the Charter of the City of Olongapo, was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on June 1, 1966. In simple but impressive ceremonies Olongapo City was inaugurated on September 1 and Gordon took his oath as Mayor before Vice President Lopez on September 3 of the same year. Assassination attempts There were three attempts on his life: On July 4, 1965, he was lured out of his house by a false report on a fire. On the way back home a grenade was thrown at his car. He survived this first attempt. On August 4 of the same year several prisoners were allowed to escape from the municipal jail of Subic, Zambales. Again, a fire was made as a ruse to make Gordon appear. Three grenades were thrown at the crowd, wounding one US Navy officer who was with the team that helped to control the blaze. Again, James Gordon survived the attempt. The third try was again linked to a fire. The Gordon residence in Quezon City mysteriously burned down on November 1. The family later learned that an ambush had been prepared at the Zig-Zag pass although he went through this third attempt unscathed. Death 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, a US Navy hospital ship, but he could not be saved because of his massive head injuries. His funeral was the largest Olongapo ever saw. Senators, Congressmen, Ambassadors, joined the grieving Olongapo public