Portrait de Lucie Tondreau, élue maire de Miami North

I love Lucie for Mayor


“One of the Most Active Community Leaders in the Haitian-American Community”, “Political Dynamo”, and holder of the “Claire-Heureuse Award” , Lucie Tondreau has been a tireless advocate in our local community for her fellow citizens and residents for the past 28 years. 

Born in Haiti, Lucie’s family fled the brutal and repressive totalitarian regime of Duvalier’s family in 1967 after her father spent six months in the famous Fort-Dimanche’s death cells. 

After her father was released from this dreaded jail, Lucie’s family began their long exile journey to Montreal when Lucie was a 7 years old girl.

 
When Lucie reached adulthood in 1981, she went on a lifetime journey to find her family roots which led Lucie to travel to the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados. 

In 1982, Lucie began her work as an advocate for the Haitian-American community as a journalist. 

During her two years in New York City, Lucie hosted the first Haitian-American Radio program called “Moman Kreyol” as well as the first Haitian-American Television show known as “Haitian Top Ten”. 

In addition, Lucie was a contributor to the popular “Haiti Progres” newspaper for NYC’s Haitian-American community. 


After two years in New York City, Lucie made the life changing decision to settle in South Florida. 

As she witnessed the day-to-day struggle faced by many Haitian immigrants arriving on U.S. shores, Lucie became engaged as an activist and joined community organizations in Miami’s Haitian diaspora community including the Haitian Refugee Center led by Father Gerard Jean-Juste and the Haitian American Community Association of Dade (HACAD).

At the Haitian Refugee Center, Lucie worked side by side with Father Gerard Jean-Juste. 
Lucie volunteered long hours as an unpaid instructor for teaching basic literacy courses and has traveled frequently to Haiti to report on various important events and as a co-host the popular, live radio show called “Guinen diziem” with Father Gerard Jean-Juste. 

In November 1987, Lucie witnessed the brutal assassination of countless numbers of Haitians by the fierce Duvalier dictatorship at polling stations throughout Haiti. Two years later, Lucie returned to Haiti to cover the election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. 


In 1991, Lucie began to mobilize our local Haitian-American community into action so that it could participate as a partner in the political process in Miami-Dade County. 
Lucie became a voters’ rights advocate and partnered her involvement with the African-American community by joining as a member of NAACP, the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, and other community based organizations. 


A tireless advocate, Lucie has continued to fight for human rights on behalf of those Haitian immigrants who were subjected to cruel treatment by the officials of the Krome Detention Center. 


In her first bid for political office in 2002, Lucie came close to unseating a powerful Miami-Dade County Commissioner with a grassroots campaign with a fraction of the powerful incumbent’s funds. 

Lucie’s candidacy for county commissioner earned the endorsement of many prestigious organizations and businesses including the Women’s Caucus, Police Benevolent Association, El Herald, and the Miami Herald. With the combination of El Herald and the Miami Herald’s endorsements, their editorial board made this bold statement about Lucie’s candidacy: “her depth of how county government works … that is unusual in first time candidates.” 


Lucie has been invited to speak on human right issues and struggles of the Haitian community at The University of West Indies in Mona, Jamaica; Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts; and The University of South Africa in Pretoria, Africa. 


After the October 2005 violent destruction of Hurricane Wilma in Miami, Lucie diligently organized a grass root group of volunteers to help assist the less fortunate Haitian-American community deal with extensive and widespread damage. Her leadership provided the daily distribution of 500 food plates to the elderly, the disabled, pregnant women, and people with metabolic syndrome.

Once again, Lucie was called into action after the another natural disaster when the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010 left Haiti with total widespread destruction and death experienced in her native birth country, Lucie sprang into action by advising and undocumented Haitian refugees seeking help in filing and obtaining temporary work visas for survival. 

Since September 1999, Lucie has been the owner and chief operating officer of Tondreau & Associates, a consulting firm for immigration and public relation issue, located in North Miami. Lucie anchors the weekly program “Face to Face on Island TV and co-hosts a daily Haitian-American Creole Radio Show “L’ouvri Je”. 

SOURCES : link

Lucie has been a board member of the following community-based organizations:

v Florida Commission on the Status of Women

v Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition which includes 16 Haitian-American organizations

v Veye-Yo

v Arts in Public Places

v Aspira

v Kidco


v Haitian Political Action Committee

v The Citizen Independent Transportation Committee

v Caribbean Pan African Network 

v City of North Miami’s Charter Review Board

v CRA advisory Board

v City of North Miami’s Adjustments board

v City of North Miami’s Parks and Recreation

v City of North Miami’s Attorney Selection Committee 


Lucie is the mother of three children: Nancy, Elodie, and Luddy as her family lives on the Sunkist Grove neighborhood in North Miami.