https:\/\/www.stpete.org\/government\/meetings___agendas\/recorded_city_meetings.php<\/a><\/p>\n“I want to congratulate Council Members Hanewicz and Floyd on their appointments as Chair and Vice-Chair. I have full confidence that they will continue to serve our residents with integrity in their new roles,” said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. “I look forward to continuing to work with Chair Hanewicz, Vice-Chair Floyd and the entire City Council in the upcoming year. I also want to recognize Council Member Copley Gerdes for his work this last year. During his time as Council Chair, he was a thoughtful leader who worked hard on behalf of all residents, and I thank him for his service. Together, we will continue to make St. Petersburg a community that reflects the needs of all of our residents and prioritizes inclusive progress.”<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m deeply grateful for the trust my colleagues have placed in me to serve as Chair of the St. Petersburg City Council,” said Chair Lisset Hanewicz. “As public servants, our responsibility is to make thoughtful, informed decisions that invest in our community and secure a strong future for our City. I look forward to continuing this work with my colleagues on City Council, Mayor Welch, and his Administration as we serve as careful stewards of the City\u2019s budget, prioritize public safety and infrastructure, and ensure St. Petersburg remains a resilient, thriving place for all.”<\/p>\n
Born in Tampa and raised in Miami, Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz is the daughter of Cuban exiles who came to the United States during the Freedom Flights. Chair Hanewicz was the first in her family to attend college and later law school. She is a former Assistant State Attorney in Pinellas County and Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Florida. Elected in 2021, Chair Hanewicz has served on committees ranging from the Arts Advisory Committee to the Budget, Finance, and Taxation Committee and has served as the City’s representative on the Tampa Bay Water Board of Directors since 2022.<\/p>\n
“I’m honored to have the confidence of my colleagues,” said Vice-Chair Richie Floyd. “As Vice-Chair, I will work diligently to make life better for every St. Petersburg resident.”<\/p>\n
A Florida native, Council Vice-Chair Richie Floyd is originally from Fort Walton Beach and moved to St. Petersburg after college. Vice Chair Floyd is an engineer by trade and has held positions with Pinellas County Schools, Honeywell Aerospace and Micro Systems Inc. Elected in 2021, Vice-Chair Floyd has served on various committees and was Chair for the Health, Energy, Resilience and Sustainability Committee and the Housing, Land Use and Transportation Committee. Vice-Chair Floyd is also a member on the City’s Public Arts Commission since 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a true honor and privilege to serve the residents of St. Petersburg as Chair of City Council this past year,” said Council Member Copley Gerdes. “I am deeply grateful for the trust, faith, and support my colleagues extended to me throughout this time, support I will never forget. Together, we navigated important conversations and made meaningful progress for our city, and I look forward to continuing that momentum. I extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to incoming Chair Lisset Hanewicz and Vice-Chair Richie Floyd. I am confident in their leadership and know they will do an exceptional job serving our community and continuing the important work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
More information about the St. Petersburg City Council can be found at www.stpete.org\/council<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jan. 8, 2026 – Today, St. Petersburg City Council Members Lisset Hanewicz of District 4 and Richie Floyd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-111020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}