{"id":377459,"date":"2025-11-14T03:58:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T03:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/377459\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T03:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T03:58:15","slug":"nyc-councilman-erik-bottcher-announces-run-for-jerry-nadlers-congressional-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/377459\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Councilman Erik Bottcher announces run for Jerry Nadler’s congressional seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Councilman Erik Bottcher<\/a> announced his candidacy Thursday for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler\u2019s Manhattan congressional seat \u2014 joining a bevy of wannabes in the Democratic primary including Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg.<\/p>\n

Democrat Bottcher, 46, who is out gay, starts out with a potential base of support with most of his constituents in the neighborhoods of Hudson Square, the West Village, Chelsea, Hudson Yards, Meatpacking District, Garment District, Times Square, and Hell\u2019s Kitchen also residing in the 12th congressional district.<\/p>\n

An upstate native from the North Country, Bottcher said moving to New York City saved his life.<\/p>\n

\"JerryOpenly gay Councilman Erik Bottcher announced his candidacy for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler\u2019s Manhattan congressional seat, joining many wannabes in the Democratic primary, including \u201cvery straight\u201d rival Jack Schlossberg. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up as a closeted kid in the Adirondack mountains. I was isolated. I was hopeless. I was bullied. I even tried to take my own life,\u201d Bottcher said in his campaign video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in New York City I found a place that accepted me and I built a life better than I ever dreamed of \u2026I\u2019ve dedicated my life to giving back to the city that saved mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he now stands up to bullies, and took an obligatory shot at President Trump and Republicans.<\/p>\n

His credentials in the LGBT community come in contrast to another candidate eyeing the seat \u2014 Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy \u2014 who told the New York Times \u201cI am very straight\u201d<\/a> when asked about his sexuality.<\/p>\n

Other candidates in the race include Assembly members Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, nonprofit Liam Elkind, former financial executive Alan Pardee, and lawyer Jami Floyd.<\/p>\n

Lasher has the support of many in Nadler\u2019s political network.<\/p>\n

One prominent LGBT activist said he\u2019s in Bottcher\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n

\"ErikBottcher claimed moving to the Big Apple saved his life while addressing in his campaign video, \u201cI\u2019ve dedicated my life to giving back to the city that saved mine.\u201d ErikBottcher.com<\/p>\n

Allen Roskoff, who helped write New York City\u2019s first gay rights law and is president of the Jim Owles LIberal LGBT Democratic Club, said Botcher will \u201coutshine\u201d his opponents with his \u201cintellect, poise, knowledge and resume.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cErik is an incredible candidate. His one of the smartest men I know. He cares deeply about people. He\u2019s a progressive and has the record to prove it,\u201d Roskoff said.<\/p>\n

Bottcher has been at the forefront of the LGBT and broader civil rights movement for years, he added.<\/p>\n

He served on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s staff and helped pass the state\u2019s landmark gay marriage law, before the US Supreme Court legalized same sex nuptials.<\/p>\n

\u201cEric was among a key group of advisors in the Governor\u2019s Office who were responsible for the historic passage of the Marriage Equality Act in 2011. He is smart and tenacious but also happens to be a mensch,\u201d said Steve Cohen, who then served as secretary or top aide to the governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s his Adirondack upbringing that gives him warmth with focused intensity. He knows where he\u2019s from; he knows who he is; he knows how to serve the public. It\u2019s hard to think of someone who was a more pleasant and supportive colleague. In the best ways, he\u2019s brought his own life experiences to bear on his various positions in public service.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s not afraid to wade into controversies, recently backing the campaign to ban horse carriages<\/a> despite industry and union opposition. <\/p>\n

Before his election to the council, Bottcher served as chief of staff to former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Councilman Erik Bottcher announced his candidacy Thursday for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler\u2019s Manhattan congressional seat \u2014 joining…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":377460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[181306,5229,327,59162,39996,5248,74652,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,80,67,586,132,5230,68,5621,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-377459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-allen-roskoff","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-congress","11":"tag-jack-schlossberg","12":"tag-jerrold-nadler","13":"tag-metro","14":"tag-midterm-elections","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-us-house-of-representatives","28":"tag-us-news","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115546051306776451","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}