Gordon served as mayor of Olongapo twice: from 1980 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1993. He gained national prominence as the chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos (1992–1998), and as Secretary of Tourism under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–2004). In 2004, he was elected to the senate, running with the pro-Arroyo K4 coalition. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 2010 elections as the standard-bearer of Bagumbayan-VNP. In 2013, he failed to return to the senate, running under the United Nationalist Alliance, but was successful in the 2016 elections, placing fifth as an independent.