After 300 years, New Orleans officially has its first female mayor, according to The Associated Press.

LaToya Cantrell was sworn in on Monday morning in a ceremony presided over by former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman and New Orleans native Donna Brazille.

“I vow to each one of you standing here today, before God Almighty, I'll spend every breath and every moment of the next four years proving that you made the right choice," Cantrell said in her inauguration speech.

Mayor Cantrell also acknowledged that he win challenged outdated ideas about what a mayor ought to look like, WWL reports.

“We broke every kind of glass ceiling. After 300 years, don’t you think it’s about time a woman was in charge?” she said. “We broke every kind of glass ceiling and every color line, and old, outdated rules about who's supposed to be mayor. It tells me that each and every one of you took a good hard look at where we are, and where we want to be and how we want to get there, and you put your faith in me."

Cantrell wasted no time getting down to governing. She addressed a variety of hard issues in her 12-minute speech, including the city's faulty sewer and drainage system, fixing socioeconomic issues affecting minorities and growing business.

“Far too many of our people are still left behind,” she said.

Prior to her election, Cantrell served on the city council for five years. A native of Los Angeles, she moved to New Orleans to attend college at Xavier University. She has long been a community activist in the Broadmoor area, which was heavily affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Cantrell was elected in November 2017, and succeeds fellow Democrat Mitch Landrieu, who reached his term limit.

New Orleans mayor

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