New Orleans (La.) Chief Administrative Office
Records of Chief Administrative Officer Marlin N. Gusman

Marlin Noel Gusman served as Chief Administrative Officer from 1994-2000 in the administration of Mayor Marc H. Morial.

Gusman was born in New Orleans and attended Jesuit High School. In 1977, he received Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce; in 1984, he received a Juris Doctor from Loyola University Law School and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar. Gusman worked in the insurance industry, with the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company and with Laurance Eustis Insurance Company. As an attorney in private practice, he was associated with the law firm of the late Ernest N. Morial and also served as the regional attorney representing the Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation.

During the administration of Mayor Ernest N. Morial, Gusman served as the City's first Minority Business Counselor and as the Director of Property Management. In 1994, he was appointed Chief Administrative Officer by Mayor Marc H. Morial, a position he held until July 2000, when he resigned to run (successfully) for the Council District D seat left vacant by the death of Councilman Roy Glapion. He was succeeded as CAO by Deputy CAO Cedric Grant.

He was re-elected to the District D seat in 2002. In 2004, Gusman was elected Criminal Sheriff of Orleans Parish, succeeding Charles Foti, who left the position after being elected state Attorney General. He was re-elected to a four-year term in 2006 and, in 2010 was elected as Orleans Parish Sheriff under the new consolidated Sheriff's Office.

The records are primarily subject/correspondence files arranged alphabetically by folder title in 6 series, as kept by the CAO. The distinction between the separate series is not always clear; there is overlap, especially, among the types of records filed in the first three series.

• Departmental Subject Files
  Subject/correspondence files documenting the CAO's inter-action with various city agencies, employees, or projects.
• General Files
  Includes interoffice memos, correspondence, reports, etc. Solicitations by individuals, businesses or vendors were not retained, nor were non-local newsletters or routine correspondence cc'd to Gusman.
• Incoming Correspondence/Outside Agencies
  Incoming correspondence, generally filed alphabetically by name of individual, law firm, business, etc., but occasionally by subject. In spite of the series' label, correspondence with some city agencies is included.
• Bucksheets
  Memos, correspondence, etc. from Gusman to various city employees, with Gusman's directives (e.g., "handle," "prepare response," "give advice," "for your files," etc.)
• Budget Files
  The CAO's files (fragmentary) on both operating and capital budgets. Budget working papers were discarded; samples of formal departmental budget presentations to the City Council were retained.
• Miscellaneous Files
  

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iw 6/17/2010