Friends and colleagues of Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, argued that a culture that normalizes alcoholism at the state Capitol is a contributing factor to the legislator’s behavior at a Northglenn City Council meeting in April, which is now the subject of an ethics complaint.

In their letter to the ethics panel, which they wrote in support of Winter, they described this drinking culture as pervasive. One supporter suggested that the ethics probe against Winter is “selective enforcement.”   

It’s not immediately clear what intervention, if any, was made by Winter’s supporters and friends to get her help.   

The Northglenn City Council had alleged that Winter failed to uphold her official duties as a lawmaker when she attended the April meeting while appearing intoxicated. The Senate Committee on Ethics last week decided to pursue an investigation into whether Winter violated her chamber’s ethical rules.

Video of the meeting showed Winter slurring her words, and several attendees said her eyes appeared “glassy.” They also said they could smell alcohol on her breath.

Footage obtained by 9News shows Winter parking her car in a fire zone before entering the meeting. Additionally, body camera footage captured from a Northglenn police officer showed the cop advising Winter not to drive home — to which she agreed. 

In that interaction, Police Chief James May said he wanted Winter to call somebody to pick her up.

“The last thing I want to do is you drive off and you hurt somebody,” the chief said.

“Sure,” Winter said.

The chief said he won’t ask the legislator to take a breathalyzer test. 

“I’m worried about you right now,” he said. 

In a letter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Winter said she had “a drink” before walking in to the meeting because she “expected it to be emotionally charged.”

Members of the Senate’s ethics panel, which is looking into the complaint from the city council, expressed skepticism she only consumed one drink.

Winter’s substance use disorder was known to many of her colleagues in the Colorado legislature even before she sought treatment following the council meeting.

The ethics committee is grappling with whether this prior knowledge should influence the decision on whether Winter committed an ethical violation, given the complaint pertained to a single incident. 

In their letters to the ethics panel in support of Winter, several of her colleagues referenced a certain kind of “culture” within the Capitol halls. 

“The prevailing culture at the Capitol, where alcohol consumption is normalized, underscores the need for a more extensive dialogue and a holistic strategy to tackle the root causes,” wrote Heidi Henkel, a Broomfield councilmember. “It’s crucial that we cultivate an atmosphere where the welfare of our legislators takes precedence, and robust support mechanisms are established to tackle substance use and mental health issues head-on.”

Kira Mazzola, a former staff member for the House Majority Caucus and constituent of Winter’s, said she had personally witnessed the widespread consumption of alcohol during her time at the Capitol.

“This committee must weigh the culture of consumption and the implications of this kind of selective enforcement among your elected peers when evaluating the worthiness of this complaint,” she wrote. 

Public discussions around alcohol’s negative effects have been relatively rare at the state Capitol. 

Several former and current lawmakers’ struggles with alcohol have perennially emerged in public view, including former House Minority Leader Mike Lynch’s DUI arrest in 2022, which came to light early in the 2024 legislative session.

Also in 2022, former Rep. Matt Gray, D-Broomfield, who is Winter’s fiancé, was arrested on suspicion of a DUI while at his children’s’ elementary school. Grey maintained that he was not intoxicated, but that his symptoms of anxiety and depression “are such that too many people are worried when they’re around me.”

“Tomorrow my fiancée will experience a protracted hearing about one of the worst days of her life after apologizing many times,” Gray tweeted the day before the ethics panel’s second committee hearing on June 20. “You’d be terrified if it was you. But you’ll watch with glee as it happens to someone else. Congrats to Northglenn and Colorado taxpayers.”

Winter has until June 27 to decide if she wants an evidentiary hearing to be held by the Ethics Committee. If she chooses to make that request, the panel has tentatively scheduled the hearing for July 8. If Winter does not request an evidentiary hearing, the panel opted to allow her to make a formal statement should she chose to do so.