Neil Winter's motto: Serve others because you truly care

Menifee Mayor Neil Winter joins his City Council colleagues in waving to the crowd during the 2017 Christmas celebration. Menifee 24/7 file photo

Commentary by Doug Spoon, Editor

He cared.

Neil Winter cared about the City of Menifee. He cared about the people who live here. He celebrated their accomplishments along with them. He shared in their frustrations. He was determined to seek solutions to the city’s problems.

Winter, who died of an apparent heart attack Saturday night at age 65, was more than the Mayor of Menifee. He was someone with a blank political slate who ran for and was elected to office because he wanted to make a difference in the right way. As he stated from the very beginning, he wanted to be there for the people.

And boy, was he ever.

I can’t recall the last major event in Menifee that Winter didn’t attend. He was there at most minor events, too. As a retired businessman, he had the time to devote to his duties. If you divided his monthly stipend by the hours he put in, Winter probably made less than $1 an hour.

By his own admission, Winter didn’t know what he was doing when he took over the mayor's role after defeating incumbent Scott Mann in November 2016. “There will be a learning curve,” he said. Other City Council members would sometimes correct him in the administration of city business during council meetings. With a smile, Winter would correct himself and continue.

Menifee residents didn’t mind. Winter represented each and every one of them, sitting up there on the dais. No previous experience, but the heart of a champion. You know, as the champion of the people.

Some said Winter didn’t win the 2016 mayoral election as much as Mann lost it. Reports of the latest in a series of controversies involving Mann – a $60,000 fine by the Fair Political Practices Commission for misuse of campaign funds – surely had an effect on the outcome.

"I'm not going to be naive," Winter told Menifee 24/7 after the election. "I'm going to attribute a lot of it to the controversy with the mayor. I think it's good that I ran. I think if he would've run unopposed, we probably never would've found all this out. That stuff would've kept going on."

Winter soon learned that his wealth of compassion for the people of Menifee, his business background and his communication skills appealed to the masses in a leadership role. Simply put, Winter asked the questions the average Joe would ask, then tried his best to address troublesome answers. Sometimes, that got him in trouble with his own colleagues.

Indeed, Winter sometimes charged ahead when protocol dictated he should follow the slow pace of public administration. He was so sensitive to the needs of his constituents, Winter would write things on social media or say things in face-to-face meetings with residents that made his fellow City Council members nervous.

Actually, that’s why so many people liked him. Winter brought a fresh approach to Menifee politics. The man who spent a mere $500 on his mayoral campaign was so eager to make a difference, it was hard to hold him back.

Few people know how involved Winter was in addressing the issue of homelessness in Menifee. Many times, without police protection, he would approach homeless individuals in the dark corners of the city. If drugs were present, he demanded they leave and called for “backup.” If it appeared they simply needed some help, he would suggest ways they could get it. Menifee formed a Homeless Task Force during this time, but the wheels weren’t turning fast enough for the mayor.

Winter also found himself right in the middle of the debate over Measure DD – a 1 percent sales tax increase passed by the voters in the same election that placed him in office. A strong believer in the need for Measure DD regardless of other sources of revenue, Winter had to check his anger this year in response to a petition designed to remove it. It was a petition co-authored by his former opponent Mann, and one Winter believed was promoted as a form of blackmail by petition co-author John Smelser to enforce a unification of postal designations in the city.

"I am highly passionate about protecting our city and making sure we can provide the level of service in all areas that our residents and visitors deserve,” Winter said during the City Council meeting of Jan. 17. “I will be on constant watch to ensure lies and personal agendas don’t harm our city."

Sadly, that watch has ended. The people’s mayor has left us too soon. His loss was put into words by a Menifee resident in a comment on Menifee 24/7’s Facebook page:

"My prayers are with his family, absolutely. But just as Menifee was realizing some real change, this has to happen. I am so sad for all of us."

Our thoughts and prayers are with Winter’s family. On a larger scale, our thoughts and prayers should be with those who will try to fill the void and carry on without him. Neil Winter was a man who truly cared about his city and its residents. We must hope his legacy is honored by those who are left behind.