Story highlights Cantrell, a city councilwoman, got 60% of the votes

"Together we truly will be better," she says

(CNN) New Orleans voters elected LaToya Cantrell as mayor Saturday, making her the first woman to hold that position in the city's 300-year history.

Cantrell, a city councilwoman, got 60% of the votes over her opponent, former municipal court Judge Desiree Charbonnet, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office.

"We deserve better and together we truly will be better," Cantrell told supporters Sunday morning.

"This victory is not about LaToya Cantrell, this campaign did not start about self. It only started with and has been rooted in the people of the city of New Orleans."

The two women earned spots for Saturday's runoff election after the October general election. Cantrell, an activist-turned-politician, will succeed Mayor Mitch Landrieu in May as the city marks the 300th anniversary of its founding.

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