For Faith.
On Wednesday, my friend Faith died.
It doesn’t quite feel real yet. Every headline or post I see about her makes my heart break a little more. And grow a little more, with love and pride. Knowing her has made me a better person. So I’d like you to know her too.
Faith Winter was a Colorado State Senator, a lifelong public servant, a mom, a partner, and a friend to so many. She loved flowers and hiking and green chile. And as you may have seen from post after post, she was a beloved leader who made a mark on so many communities.
Over the years I’ve known her, I’ve watched her move mountains to win, to make positive change in her state. From climate to transportation to housing to paid leave, to mentoring and training other young leaders, the body of work she leaves behind is overwhelming. Someone noted this week that she moved some 240 bills into law in her career—as someone else noted, she felt compelled to win, she felt a duty to win for the people.
She didn’t shy from her accomplishments, but frankly she didn’t demand attention or thanks for them either. She did them for the right reasons. In a world where a lot of people have ideas and less have follow through, Faith always put in the work.
She was always working, always moving, and always bringing family and friends along (and her dog, Queso). She was often inviting people in, into the Statehouse, or bringing friends the flags that flew over the Capitol the day of their baby’s birth or an important milestone, bringing her world into yours.
Faith survived so much. But this week I have been thinking of how she lived, and all she did in her too short time on earth. She took on the Koch brothers and won one of the most important state legislative seats in the country. She brought down a predator. She sponsored paid leave legislation many times. When it didn’t pass, she flipped the senate. And when she still faced obstacles, she took it to the ballot for the first time in the country despite warnings it would fail—and won, even in Trump counties, where it’s now used most.
But it was not just her endless resume of accomplishment, it was how she did it.
When she was the first woman to come forward publicly with her story of harassment by another legislator, it was when she realized he was preying on other women, younger and more vulnerable women in the statehouse. She said, “I knew it would be a long road full of retaliation, of my credibility being questioned, and of attacks. But if I could make sure not one other person experienced harassment and was targeted by this individual then it was worth it.”
When she won Governing’s public official of the year award, she could have brought a table full of donors and corporate sponsors to the gala. She instead brought her daughter and invited me and other women advocates for issues she cared about.
I could call her for anything, and she always picked up. She always listened, and she always lent a hand. And not just in a gesture, not to be polite or make motions. She saw it through.
Thanksgiving morning after I got the phone call she was gone, I was signed up to do a 5K with my son. I never thought about canceling—Faith wouldn’t have been impressed with that. I wrote “For Faith” on my hands, and sprinted through the tape with my kid. I told him all about her.
Faith had a tattoo on her arm, a small stick of dynamite. It was a reminder of her power. She may not have been the tallest among us, but her passion was never small, and she always found a way to make a spark. Her impact on her state and this country was immeasurable. It’s a legacy that will grow over generations, in Colorado residents whose rent won’t be raised, in every mother who can stay in the NICU with her newborn baby, every person who holds onto their job after an injury or diagnosis, every son and daughter who can be with their parents when they pass.
She never gave up. If we ever pass paid leave, I will be thinking of her when we do.
And I will miss my friend.
I’d encourage you to do something this season, for your friends or your community or a stranger, something good and something complete. Don’t worry about getting credit or thanks, but feel good that you saw it through. Do it for someone else. Do it for Faith.
