 He was also a shipowners' representative on the "River Wear Commission", a borough magistrate, a justice of the peace for the county, and a Deputy-Lieutenant.He also joined forces with Samuel Storey, a Liberal councillor, to become one of the founder members of the "Sunderland Echo" in 1873.It was in 1868 that Gourley took his biggest step forward in politics, when he was elected as a Liberal MP for the town.