Linda Cothière, an educator born in Cap-Haïtien, won the District 1 seat on the Miami-Dade County School Board on Tuesday, November 3, becoming the first Haitian-born and first Haitian American member of the board, The Haitian Times reported. She took 51.6% of the vote in the runoff against Katrina Wilson, who received 48.4%, according to the county's Supervisor of Elections.

Cothière, 58, has spent more than 35 years in Miami-Dade public schools as a paraprofessional, community specialist and teacher. She moved to the United States as a teenager and was raised by a single mother in Carol City, now Miami Gardens. She is married to state Representative Wallace Aristide and co-hosts a talk show on Radio 1360 AM.

In the August primary, Wilson, a former principal and CEO of Liberty City Charter School, led an eight-candidate field with about 32% and Cothière had just under 21%, forcing a runoff. Cothière campaigned on support for teachers, communication with families in English, Haitian Creole and Spanish, accountability for district spending and oversight of District 1's share of a $1.2 billion school construction bond approved by voters in 2012.

She succeeds Steve Gallon III, who held the seat for 10 years and was elected without opposition to the county commission. “The victory is bigger than me,” Cothière said.