Democrat Faith Winter was catapulted into the spotlight in 2017 when the then-State Representative publicly accused a colleague of sexual harassment. She went on to become the galvanizing force that led to the expulsion of Democratic Rep. Steve Lebsock, only the second expulsion in the history of the state legislature.
After Winter’s sudden death in a car crash a week ago, former colleagues and friends are remembering that pivotal time in her life, and her role to push for change inside the building, as well as the lasting policies she crafted to try to improve how people conduct themselves under the gold dome.
“I think Faith showed tremendous courage and leadership at a time when it wasn't easy to come forward with acts of misconduct in the workplace, particularly at the Capitol,” said former Republican Rep. Cole Wist, who ended up playing a crucial role in the Lebsock vote when he changed his expulsion vote from no to yes, and brought along other Republican yes votes.
Wist said historically the Capitol had been the site of some boorish behavior by folks working there who felt like they didn’t have to follow any rules.
“And for the first time, I think we, as a legislative body, had to take an honest look and to see whether or not that behavior met the expectations of us at the Capitol.”
Winter accused Lebsock of unwanted sexual advances, vulgar language, and grabbing her arm and elbow to try to force her to leave a party with him at the end of the 2016 legislative session. She first spoke about the incident in November 2017 and soon filed a formal complaint. Other women also came forward publicly and privately and as part of an investigation into his actions.
Former lobbyist Holly Tarry, was one of the women who filed a sexual harassment complaint against Lebsock.
“I felt uniquely positioned to be part of the fight with her because I knew she was telling the truth, and because it had happened to me, and because I wasn’t working at the capitol anymore,” said Tarry.
Tarry remembers Winter as a leader in removing a toxic force at the capitol.
“There were a lot of elected leaders and lobbyists who stayed quiet about other toxic forces in power. So she really stands out to me as a leader among leaders, because she took that leap and saw it all the way through to the end. She never sunk to his level. She never participated in the scandal, she just told the truth and stayed the course.”
Tarry said she and Winter shared a bond because of the “fear and chaos” that swirled around them during that tumultuous time.
“She texted me on the anniversary of his expulsion every year and said, ‘I love you.’ So that will stop.”
It was combative
Right from the start the situation was combative. Lebsock, who did not respond to a text seeking comment for this story, went on offense. He was running for state treasurer and said Winter’s allegations were part of a political conspiracy by the Democratic establishment to try to get rid of him.
He proclaimed his innocence and denied the allegations against him. He also took a lie detector test which he said cleared him of any wrongdoing. He distributed a 28-page manifesto to every House member with uncorroborated, sexually-explicit allegations about Winter and another woman.
Reflecting on that period with CPR News, Winter said it was brutal, waking up every day not knowing when she was going to be attacked next and how she’d have to defend herself.
“He repeatedly called me a ‘liar’ in the media. He wrote a manifesto that was meant to humiliate and embarrass the victims. And he created an awful YouTube video designed to humiliate and embarrass me,” Winter recalled.
Former Democrat Rep. Daneya Esgar was one of Winter’s closest friends in the House, and said they discussed whether Winter should speak out publicly. It was during the height of the #MeToo movement and Winter was worried Lebsock might not be held accountable.
“Is this something that's going to help people or is this something that's going to make things harder for people?” Esgar said was the question Winter grappled with.
She said Winter knew the stakes and the risk.
“I think she fully felt that there was a possibility that her reputation would be crushed. I think she knew that there would be a possibility that no senator would ever sign on to a bill of hers again because they wouldn't want to be associated with her, let alone the threats, that I don't even know how many she received from folks, just the public in general, for even being brave enough to name someone she knew.”
Winter later said, “coming forward was scary and I risked my career to do it.”
The expulsion that almost wasn’t
Looking back now, it’s hard to remember that Lebsock’s expulsion almost did not happen.
Democrats needed eight Republicans to join them to reach the required threshold. The night before the scheduled vote, House Democrats and Republicans caucused separately across the street from the capitol, and Republicans made it clear that they were against the expulsion.
Some GOP members did not think the allegations against Lebsock rose to the level of expulsion, and said it should only apply to criminal acts when there is a conviction. Others were skeptical of how the claims against Lebsock were investigated.
But Democrat Alec Garnett, who had corroborated some of Winter’s allegations, said she never wavered from doing what she thought was right.
“She knew walking into the room that the votes weren't there, but she still thought it was important.”
Other Democrats decided to follow her lead and hold what was expected to be a lengthy and painful discussion, even though the vote would fail.
“We trusted her walking in and wanting to do this because her intentions were always to make things better,” said Esgar. “Never once did anybody feel like this was something that Faith was doing for Faith, this was something Faith was doing to change the culture of how people treated each other and acted within that capitol.”
But on the day of the vote the tide unexpectedly shifted when Wist, the Assistant Minority Leader, got to the podium. He was the number two House Republican, and an attorney specializing in labor and employment law. He said he believed Lebsock had retaliated against Winter and other accusers, and that it rose to the level of expulsion.
“I think we were able to look at the pretty clear cut case of retaliation in and of itself being something that was a violation,” said Wist. “And I think that sort of allowed some of our members to feel more comfortable with discipline given the pretty clear violation of the retaliation policy.”
Former Republican Rep. Polly Lawrence, said at the time, that the stories in the chamber, alleging he retaliated against accusers and their supporters, pushed everything over the top, and she voted to expel Lebsock.
“That’s not something I take lightly but I think that was the right vote.”
Looking back now, Wist said it was unfortunate that Winter had to put herself out there and victims had to come forward in a really challenging environment.
“But I have appreciation for the fact that they did step forward because I think the Colorado State Capitol is a much better place than if we hadn't gone through that experience.”
Winter later described the expulsion vote as surreal. She called it a rare day “where stories changed hearts and minds."
“I went into the chamber that morning thinking that we weren't going to have the votes and so to see the board light up with 52, I was a little bit in shock.”
Changes beyond Lebsock’s expulsion
Winter faced added pressure, not just because she was the first to speak out, but also because Republican Senate leaders, who controlled the upper chamber by one seat, worried that scrutiny over member behavior would reach the other side of the Capitol.
That’s exactly what happened.
Eventually outside investigators found credible harassment allegations against three GOP Senators from a number of people, including legislative aides, colleagues, and staff.
Democratic Rep. Susan Lontine said she appreciated that Winter came forward. “It made me braver to come out with my own story.”
Lontine filed a complaint against then Republican Sen. Larry Crowder for allegedly pinching her buttocks and making an inappropriate sexual comment.
“I had no idea that even saying something about what happened to me would be met with such awfulness. But Faith got it way worse,” said Lontine. “I guess what I underestimated, but should have known, was the intensity of how people reacted in a negative way to what Winter came out with.”
Katia Birge was a former Senate aide. She didn’t know Winter well, but recalls that Winter’s actions impacted her own decision to file a complaint against former Republican Sen. Randy Baumgardner.
“She had a lot of influence and she was putting herself on the line and some Democrats were not supporting her. I was like, ‘well if she can do this, I guess we can.’ I looked up to her as an established older woman, standing up to her own party,” Birge said.
Two separate outside investigations later concluded Baumgardner grabbed a former staffer’s buttocks, said inappropriate comments to another intern, created “an intimidating, offensive, and hostile work environment” for five nonpartisan Senate staffers and “substantially interfered” with one woman’s work performance and had a nickname associated with his behavior, the “boob grabber.” He denied any wrongdoing and survived a Democratic expulsion vote. But he resigned from the legislature the following year when Republicans lost control of the chamber.
Crowder was term-limited from office and denied Lontine’s version of events. Former GOP Senator Jack Tate, who was also accused of misconduct, did not seek reelection to the chamber. He said no one told him that he caused them discomfort or distress.
The state later hired Denver-based Investigations Law Group to survey more than 500 people who worked at the capitol, from lobbyists and staffers, to lawmakers. The results showed 30 percent of people either saw or experienced harassment and very few reported it. Another 50 percent of people had observed sexist behavior and/or reported episodes of seriously disrespectful behavior. The report concluded that there were systemic cultural and sexual harassment problems at the Colorado State Capitol.
Yet despite all the backlash and turmoil inside the capitol after Winter spoke out publicly, it didn’t hurt her career trajectory.
Months after the Lebsock vote, Winter won a state Senate seat, flipping a critical district from red to blue to help her party win back the majority in the chamber.
Then in the 2019 session Winter sponsored bipartisan legislation to change the process for filing workplace complaints at the Capitol. It took the process solely out of the discretion of legislative leaders. Instead, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers would handle the proceedings and hire an outside investigator. It also added mandatory harassment training for legislators and staff.
The legislature hired its first HR employee to field complaints and is required to release an annual statistical report on the number of complaints and their resolution.
Winter fought hard to make sure the policy allowed some information from a credible complaint against a sitting member to be public information, including the lawmaker’s name, and to make sure an accuser’s identity was closely protected.
“To make sure that the culture in the capitol was cleaned up in a way to make sure everybody was treated fairly because the capitol inherently is a hierarchical place,” explained former Speaker Garnett.
“Unless you're very diligent and careful about how that culture is maintained, it can create a lot of challenging situations for staff and different people depending on where they fall on that hierarchy. She just wanted to make sure everyone was treated fairly throughout.”
Later in her career, Winter went on to face her own professional challenges. In 2024 the Senate concluded that she violated ethics rules when she appeared to be intoxicated when attending a community meeting in Northglenn.
“I know the way I showed up at the community meeting was inappropriate and hard for those in attendance,” Winter said after it happened. “That night led me to seek treatment for substance abuse disorder, which was difficult, especially with the eyes of the world watching, but I’m glad I did.”
Winter stepped down from her leadership positions in the Senate but still continued a full workload.
The former senate aide, Birge, said throughout the years she continued to follow what Winter was working on at the capitol. When she thinks of her, the word that comes to mind is groundbreaking, from how she fought to change the workplace culture, while putting in long hours at the legislature, campaigning, and being a mom.
“It was astounding.”
Today, Colorado’s capitol is by no means a perfect workplace, but Birge said none of the change that happened could have been done without Winter.
“I hope that others will stick up for each other in her memory. Just taking care of each other, and I hope she rests in peace.”
