Campaign portrait of Halyn Roth running for Mayor of Spring Lake Park

Progressive Leadership for the Next Generation

Building a brighter, more inclusive Spring Lake Park together.

Meet Halyn

I'm running because Spring Lake Park deserves a mayor who values every resident of our city, and who understands the needs of families and children.

For most of my career, I have served our community as a Special Education Paraprofessional, working daily to support our students and ensure every child has the tools they need to succeed.

Since moving to Spring Lake Park six years ago, I've seen our city grow and change. My vision is to lead that change with transparency, inclusivity, and a focus on making our city a place where everyone can thrive.

My husband Josh and I have been married for 10 years, and we have a 10 year old son Adrian. Our family is glad to call Spring Lake Park home!

Halyn Roth with his family, husband Josh and son Adrian, in Spring Lake Park

My Vision for the Future

Safety First

While Spring Lake Park is a very safe city, we can always do better. I support expanding cultural competency training for our officers and increasing police presence at schools during drop-off and pick-up. I will also prioritize pedestrian safety with better-maintained crosswalks and bicycle infrastructure. Finally, I strongly oppose the use of Flock cameras to protect resident privacy and ensure our city resources are never used for federal immigration enforcement.

Inclusive Community

Spring Lake Park has seen major change over the past 20 years. Our demographics are rapidly becoming younger and more diverse. Our government needs to reflect that change. As mayor, I commit to treating every resident of Spring Lake Park with dignity and respect. I will invite every resident to be an active participant in decision making, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, or political affiliation. The city works best when every voice is at the table.

Transparent Leadership

Our residents deserve a government that is transparent and accessible. While we have made great strides to improving accessibility, we can do better. I propose streaming and storing all city council meetings on YouTube, which is an easily accessible platform that is universally known and recognized. Further, I want to establish monthly Coffee with the Council events, where residents can meet with their elected leaders in a less formal setting to learn about what is happening and express any concerns they may have. These events can also be live streamed to those who cannot attend in person.

Improving our Parks

Every child in Spring Lake Park deserves playgrounds that are clean, safe, and accessible. Unfortunately, recent improvements have not done enough to ensure that children with different abilities can actually use the playground. I will use every tool at my disposal to modernize our parks without raising taxes. This includes aggressively pursuing grants, partnering with our legislative delegation, and creating a Capital Asset Replacement Fund. This fund would be just like a savings account, where the city can put money aside for future park improvements without the need for additional revenue.

Growing our Business Community

Our city must do everything possible to attract and retain our businesses. We have very little room to expand, so it is imperative that we provide an incentive for small businesses to move into our existing storefronts. We were all told that if Hy-Vee comes to our city, the other businesses will come. While having an anchor store is useful, we have learned it isn’t the silver bullet we thought it would be. I support exploring a small business micro grant program, to help new resident-owned businesses get on their feet and put down roots in our community. I would explore all available avenues to fund this project, including partnering with our representatives in the legislature and at the county.

Improving Services

Improving city responsiveness to issues is a priority. A city of our size is uniquely positioned to be able to address the needs of our residents in a timely manner. I propose a more robust online portal where residents can report issues to the city, and track the progress of their request.

Smart and Sustainable Growth

While Spring Lake Park may be small, we have the opportunity to contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable, and more affordable community for everyone. I support the GreenStep Cities initiative, which will modernize our city and make it more resilient. Specifically, I support vertical mixed use development at the property recently acquired by the city near the public works building on Highway 65.

Keeping SLP Affordable

My top priority as your Mayor will be to maintain Spring Lake Park as an affordable option for families in the North Metro. We must go through our city budget, line by line, to make sure we are being good stewards of taxpayer money. Furthermore, we must have open lines of communication with our state legislative delegation to ensure the interests of our city are heard at the capitol, particularly when it comes to unfunded mandates from St. Paul.

Endorsements

"I support Halyn because his platform is grounded in respect, practicality, and a genuine desire to serve the needs of our entire community."

Lisa Dircks

City Council Member

"I believe Halyn will be an outstanding mayor who is committed to working with people and bringing our community together..."

April Moran

City Council Member

“Halyn’s dedication to building a broad, inclusive local government ensures that all residents will have a meaningful voice in shaping our city's future...”