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When he first became mayor in 1959, Jim Norick also became the first mayor of Oklahoma City to have been born in Oklahoma. Norick first entered local politics in 1951, winning the election for Ward 1 city council. Eight years later he would become mayor of Oklahoma City at the age of 39 after making it into a runoff by the margin of one single vote. During his tenure as mayor he would oversee the beginning of the controversial process of urban renewal, which saw many of the city’s historic buildings torn down and people relocated from their homes. His time as mayor would also see the city go from just over 80 square miles to over 475, at the time the largest city in the world. Norick would leave office in 1963 only to return to the office of mayor for another term in 1967. He passed away in 2015 and is buried in Rose Hill Burial Park.