Erik Bottcher (born May 9, 1979) is an American politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He is a Democratic member of the 3rd district of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

, which includes the neighborhoods of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, Chelsea, and

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

Early life and education

Bottcher was raised in

Wilmington, New York Wilmington is a town in northern Essex County, New York, United States located within the Adirondack Park. The population was 1,253 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the town of Wilmington, Vermont. Wilmington is on the county's nort ...

, a small town in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

located outside of Lake Placid. His parents owned and operated a fly fishing motel called "The Hungry Trout". As an adolescent, Bottcher suffered from depression and struggled to come to terms with his sexual orientation. At the age of 15 and following a number of suicide attempts, he was admitted to Four Winds Hospital, a mental health facility in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. After graduating from Lake Placid High School, Bottcher wrote an open letter to the school board sharing his experiences with bullying he endured at the school and why the district needed to do more to protect its students. Shortly thereafter, the school district added "sexual orientation" to its non-discrimination policy. These early experiences are often credited by Bottcher as the beginning of his political activism. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Career

After college, Bottcher moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and held a number of jobs in various industries throughout his 20s, including a traffic coordinator at an advertising firm, a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

in the packaging design department of Colgate Palmolive, and as a

realtor Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agent ...

at the

Corcoran Group Corcoran Group is an American real estate firm founded in 1973 by Barbara Corcoran. History Barbara Corcoran, a former diner waitress, founded her own real estate company in 1973 with a $1,000 loan. In 2001, Barbara Corcoran sold her company ...

. Bottcher began his formal politics work in 2009, when he joined the staff of the

as the body's

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

and

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

community liaison. At the Council, he worked on issues including

hate crimes Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their Physical appearance#Physiological ...

transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...

, bullying in schools, and the fight for

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Bottcher soon joined the governor's office as the LGBTQ liaison and in that role he assisted the successful 2011 effort to pass marriage equality in New York. In 2015, Bottcher re-entered city politics as chief of staff to Council member (and soon-to-be City Council Speaker) Corey Johnson, where he remained until his own City Council campaign.

2021 City Council campaign

In February 2020, Bottcher announced he would run to succeed the term-limited Johnson for the 3rd district of the City Council in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Running with Johnson's support, Bottcher quickly became the district's frontrunner, raising more money than all but four other candidates across the city and accruing endorsements from nearly every major union and local elected official. During the campaign, Bottcher released an extensive policy platform to address the crisis of serious mental illness, New York City's sanitation concerns, and increasing employment opportunities for residents of public housing and those living in poverty. On election night on June 22, Bottcher resoundingly led the field with 47 percent of first-choice votes, and declared victory that night; when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted two weeks later, Bottcher officially defeated runner-up Arthur Schwartz 71-29%. He faced no opposition in the November general election.

Tenure

On December 17, Bottcher attended a Drag Story Hour event that was targeted by about 20 anti-LGBT protestors. On December 19, two protestors associated with Guardians of Divinity, were arrested for entering Bottcher's building and refusing to leave before eventually doing so. The protestors also defaced the sidewalk outside of his apartment with graffiti calling him a pedophile and using slurs such as " groomer". The group also entered and vandalized his nearby office building. David Nieves, a leading member of Guardians of Divinity, was arrested for assaulting Bottcher's neighbor, a 52-year-old man who had been walking his dog, who he harassed, struck in the face causing him to bleed, and then pushed into a car.

Personal life

Bottcher lives in Chelsea. He is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, and has been open about his struggles with suicide when he was a closeted high schooler.

References