He served as the 25th Secretary of State of New Mexico from December 18, 2015 to December 9, 2016, being appointed to the position by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez following the resignation of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran, and was a member of the Albuquerque City Council for 7 consecutive terms, including three terms as council president, from 1999 to 2019.
[1] Winter worked as a teacher and rose to principal in Albuquerque Public Schools (APS).
In 1999, he ran for Albuquerque City Council and defeated Sam Bregman, local lawyer and Democratic activist.
Winter would become the chief operating officer of APS, a post he held for almost 5 years after resigning in 2014.
[3] Winter did not resign his City Council seat during that time, nor did he run for the remainder of Duran's term in the November 2016 special election, which was won by Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver.