EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m very emotional right now because of this devastating loss, and this blog post may be edited repeatedly in the coming days. Right now, in the first hours of hearing of her passing and our loss, these are my thoughts:
I first met Faith when she was a city councilor in Westminster. She was young and spunky and she dared to mention the climate as an issue. I was an instant fan.
In those early years when she was on city council, we were frequent companions at Adams County Democratic Party meetings and events.
My enduring image of Faith over the years was from a JFK Dinner, probably 2010, when she came walking in pushing a stroller. As a father of four with a well-worn stroller, I knew what she was going through.
That was Faith. She had a real drive to her. I loved that about her.
I wrote a blog piece for her years ago, perhaps when she was first seeking the Senate. I’m trying to find it. In it, I remember saying something to the effect of “Can you blame her for getting exasperated with the good ol’ boys club?”
Faith was a real fighter, and her loss is even more painful when you recognize how many of our party leaders pussy foot around doing effectively nothing. You can’t say those things about Faith’s record at the Capitol.
Senator Winter led a number of legislative priorities over the years. Her hallmark piece of legislation was the Family And Medical Leave Insurance ACT, or FAMLI. We Coloradoans now have paid sick leave. https://famli.colorado.gov/ It was no walk in the park.
It took her 6 years, 6 tries, 6 bites at the legislative apple to get to a program which was acceptable to a majority of her peers and the Governor who’s signature it required.
To say it wasn’t easy would be too cheap, too easy, too demeaning of the effort and struggle she put in week after week, month after month, session after session, to get us paid sick leave.
Because frankly, it’s tough to make your bill an easy political sell when you have to talk about things like Risk Pool Adjustments.
I attended a fundraiser once that Faith hosted in what was then her new home in Broomfield. She loved that home, and gave a few of us a tour raving about the energy efficiency and other geeky cool features. Her face really lit up. I’m gonna miss that face so much.
Faith was a fighter. One of the last times I saw her, must have been 3 years ago now, after a JFK Dinner, she was leaning on a rail near the exit with a look on face that implied she was ready to handle all comers! We spoke briefly, the usual pleasantries. She had lost a ton of weight by then, really quite a transformation.
In an era when our party needs more backbone, more determination, and more courage, her loss is even that much more of a set back. God bless you Faith. To her family, and especially to her two children who she loved so much, if there’s ever anything I can ever do to help, all you need to do is ask.
Faith was a true champion of working people. We must all commit to seeing FAMLI properly funded, and if anything, expanded. It’s Faith’s legacy. We owe it to her. It’s what she would want.