Updated with statement from Senate President Steve Fenberg.

The Northglenn City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday night to send a resolution to Senate President Steve Fenberg, asking him to launch an ethics complaint against Sen. Faith Winter, a Democrat from Westminster. 

The council also leveled sharp words at Winter’s colleagues at the state Capitol, whom they accused of ignoring the senator’s alcohol problems for years.

The council took the action after Winter showed up at an April 3 city meeting, in which people said she was visibly intoxicated and combative, according to the complaint authored by Councilman Nicholas Walker.

Councilmembers didn’t mince words during Wednesday’s meeting, one by one chastising Winter for her behavior during the April 3 event.

It was a disappointing experience “to have someone we expected to represent us show up and behave the way she did,” said Councilwoman Katherine Goff.

Even as she backed the resolution, Goff questioned what it would accomplish.

Councilman Adam Nowicki pointed out he has struggled with alcoholism himself, and he now works with people on substance abuse issues. But accountability is a cornerstone of recovery and especially important as an elected official, Nowicki said.

“Senator Winter, my hope for you is that this will be the line that prompts you to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ You do not have to live every day in pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization,” Nowicki said. “Please, Senator Winter, continue to get help for your constituents, your family, and for yourself.” 

Councilwoman Megan Burns noted that anyone else who drinks on the job would be terminated.

“How can we know that she’s making the best decisions for us while she’s suffering from this disease and not seeking help and not getting the help that she needs?” Burns said, calling it a failure of duty. 

“I have empathy for her, but I’m putting our residents and our job first over my personal feelings,” Burns said.

Winter earlier told Colorado Politics she has not seen the complaint.

“I apologized to the city and the citizens and am committed to repairing the relationship,” she said.

During Wednesday’s council meeting, Councilwoman Jody Roper appeared to be disappointed in Winter’s course of treatment, which was done at home. Roper said it does not appear to be a serious recovery program.

Mayor pro tem Shannon Lukeman-Hiromasa noted that she had a meeting with Winter a week prior to the April 3 meeting and that Winter was intoxicated in that meeting, too.

“The rumors circulating around the Capitol that this is accepted is only going to end up getting her or someone else hurt. She needs help,” Lukeman-Hiromasa added.

Mayor Meredith Leighty, the resolution’s sponsor, noted conversations she’s had with Winter’s colleagues at the state Capitol and asked that they take action “because they should have a long time ago.” 

Leighty said her disappointment does not end with Winter. She asked the Senate to “do the right thing” — because “they haven’t so far.”

They’ve seen her intoxicated at the Capitol, knowing she drove there and then drove home, Leighty said.

“This has been an ongoing history of behavior and she has been talked to about it,” Leighty said. “I believe that it is our job to stand up for our residents, but also to not just leave this incident under the rug”

“We cannot just look the other way and not call attention to it,” the mayor said. 

Leighty also noted there were close to 400 people who attended the April 3 meeting, in which people discussed a mental health transitional living facility to be housed in Northglenn.

Winter did not attend the council the meeting, as she was in a committee hearing at the Capitol. She sent a letter to the council, asking that they read it aloud. They didn’t do that.

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Winter said it was disappointing that they did not read the letter. She said the council has not communicated with her and “have chosen not to show me the same empathy that I give my constituents.”

Winter has apologized for her behavior at the April 3 meeting. The day after, she said she takes full responsibility for her actions “and I am committed to making things right.”

“I especially apologize to the City of Northglenn and the citizens that came out. I deeply care about your thoughts and community. I am now under the care of medical professionals and receiving treatment for my substance abuse disorder,” she said. 

The resolution now goes to Fenberg, who will decide whether to appoint an ethics committee to look into the matter.

In a statement Wednesday night, Fenberg said “Senator Winter is an important and valued leader in the Senate Democratic Caucus and we will continue to support her as she seeks the treatment that she needs. All elected officials have the responsibility to hold themselves to a high standard, and I take any accusation of a Senator’s misconduct seriously. Once we receive the complaint, I will take the appropriate next steps as required by our Senate rule on ethics.”

Winter, first elected to the House in 2014, has twice been elected to the Senate. She is term-limited at the end of 2026. 

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained the wrong date of Northglenn meeting. It happened on April 3.