Changes

==Career==

==Career==

At the age of twenty-five, just as he launched his law practice, Cusimano was elected in 1979 as a Democrat to the District 81 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He switched to Republican affiliation at the start of his second term, 1984 to 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016: Jefferson Parish Parish|publisher=house.louisiana.gov|accessdate=May 23, 2015}}</ref> He served on the House committees on Criminal Justice, Civil Law, and Natural Resources.<ref name=cusimano>{{cite web|url=http://www.fifthjpc.com/aboutus.htm|title=About Judge Charles V. Cusimano, II|publisher=fifthjpc.com|accessdate=November 11, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref> On October 24, 1987, he was elected again, having defeated fellow Republican Steve Little, 9,650 (65.2 percent) to 5,165 (34.8 percent) in the nonpartisan blanket primary.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns for Jefferson Parish, October 24, 1987.</ref>

At the age of twenty-five, just as he launched his law practice, Cusimano was elected in 1979 as a Democrat to the District 81 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He switched to Republican affiliation at the start of his second term, 1984 to 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020 (Jefferson Parish) |publisher=Louisiana House of Representatives|accessdate=November 15, 2019}}</ref> He served on the House committees on Criminal Justice, Civil Law, and Natural Resources.<ref name=cusimano>{{cite web|url=http://www.fifthjpc.com/aboutus.htm|title=About Judge Charles V. Cusimano, II|publisher=fifthjpc.com|accessdate=November 11, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref> On October 24, 1987, he was elected again, having defeated fellow Republican Steve Little, 9,650 (65.2 percent) to 5,165 (34.8 percent) in the nonpartisan blanket primary.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns for Jefferson Parish, October 24, 1987.</ref>

Cusimano was described by his House colleague, [[Ron Gomez]] of [[Lafayette]], as "a diminitive firebrand from Metairie."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative'' ([[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000), p. 134, isbn=0-9700156-0-7</ref> In House debate over the [[New Orleans Saints]]'s lease of the Louisiana Superdome (since the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Cusimano proposed an amendment that would restrict the team's concession revenues to a minimum level, after which the proceeds would be split 50-50 with the state. The amendment, strongly opposed by the Saints' owner, Thomas Milton "Tom" Benson (1927-2018), appeared to have passed until Governor [[Edwin Edwards]], in an unprecedented move, came to the chamber to plead with the lawmakers to reverse themselves. Edwards claimed that the Cusimano amendment would cause the Saints, then a repeatedly losing team, to leave New Orleans and practically make the state the laughingstock of the nation. After the visibly shaken Edwards spoke, Representative [[Raymond Laborde]] of Marksville, Edwards' friend from childhood, stepped to the microphone and moved that the previous amendment be deleted. No debate was allowed on the previous question, and Benson and Edwards prevailed.<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 134-137.</ref>

Cusimano was described by his House colleague, [[Ron Gomez]] of [[Lafayette]], as "a diminitive firebrand from Metairie."<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative'' ([[Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000), p. 134, isbn=0-9700156-0-7</ref> In House debate over the [[New Orleans Saints]]'s lease of the Louisiana Superdome (since the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Cusimano proposed an amendment that would restrict the team's concession revenues to a minimum level, after which the proceeds would be split 50-50 with the state. The amendment, strongly opposed by the Saints' owner, Thomas Milton "Tom" Benson (1927-2018), appeared to have passed until Governor [[Edwin Edwards]], in an unprecedented move, came to the chamber to plead with the lawmakers to reverse themselves. Edwards claimed that the Cusimano amendment would cause the Saints, then a repeatedly losing team, to leave New Orleans and practically make the state the laughingstock of the nation. After the visibly shaken Edwards spoke, Representative [[Raymond Laborde]] of Marksville, Edwards' friend from childhood, stepped to the microphone and moved that the previous amendment be deleted. No debate was allowed on the previous question, and Benson and Edwards prevailed.<ref>Ron Gomez, pp. 134-137.</ref>