Lisset Hanewicz first Hispanic St. Pete city council member

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For Hispanic Heritage Month 2025, Spectrum News has spotlighted Lisset Hanewicz, the first Hispanic to ever be elected to the St. Petersburg City Council.

“I truly did not know that there had never been a Hispanic male or female city council member in the City of St. Petersburg,” she said. “It’s overwhelming to think that you actually are the first elected official in our city that represents the Hispanic community, and it’s an honor.”

Hanewicz was elected to the city council in November 2021 and has served more than half of her first term, which expires in January 2027. Her fellow city council members elected Hanewicz to serve as vice chair this year, further cementing her leadership in the city.

“You want to show, no matter where you’re from, that any child can go and be a city council member, be the next governor or be the next President of the United States,” she said. “Even if you are a child of immigrants.”

Hanewicz said her family fled Cuba in the 1960s during the Freedom Flights. She was born in Tampa but was raised in Miami by her mother and grandmother. Hanewicz finished high school at night so she could work during the day to help her mom pay the bills and went to law school at the age of 30.  

“They wanted to make sure that I got an education because education was the path for a better life,” she said. “My mom passed away right before I took office and the lessons that both her and my grandmother… taught me in terms of hard work and perseverance always are with me.”

In 2006, Hanewicz moved to St. Petersburg’s Crescent Lake neighborhood. She worked as a Pinellas County prosecutor and then as a federal prosecutor before deciding to leave her career to start a family. Hanewicz became the president of the Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association in 2016, which launched her career in politics.

“I had my daughter, and I was staying home, and I wanted to get involved in the community,” she said. “The timing was perfect.”  

Hanewicz is proud to represent District 4 and knows its history well. She has stories about Huggins-Stengel Field, which was the spring training site for the New York Yankees beginning in 1925.

“When Babe Ruth played, and he hit a homer so hard, there used to be alligators, and people didn’t want to go get the ball because there would be an alligator sunning in the field,” she said. “It’s on the national register.”

Hanewicz’s personal story fits well with this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month theme, “Collective Heritage: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.” She credits her family for putting her on a path to make history in St. Petersburg and hopes to serve as a role model to inspire future civic leaders.

“When you’re a child, a lot of times you don’t see people that represent you in elected government,” she said. “It’s the best way I can honor my family and what they did to come to our country for freedom.”