Bruce M. Botelho is an American attorney and politician in the U.S. state of Alaska. He served as the mayor of Juneau from 1988 to 1991 and from 2003 to 2012. Born and raised in Juneau, where his father was a top official of the Alaska Highway Patrol, Botelho has pursued concurrent careers in law and politics, largely with success. He also previously served a term as mayor from 1988 to 1991, defeating former Alaska Secretary of State Robert W. Ward in the election. He spent most of his professional career as an employee of the Alaska Department of Law. He rose to the top position in the department in 1994, when GovernorWalter Hickel appointed him to be the Alaska Attorney General. Retained by Hickel's successor, Tony Knowles, Botelho served as Attorney General for nearly nine years before retiring from state service.
During law school, Botelho clerked for the office of Oregon Legislative Counsel, the Oregon Law Improvement Commission and Alaska Supreme Court Justice Edmond Burke. Immediately following law school, in 1976 Botelho was appointed an assistant attorney general in the Alaska Department of Law, where he represented the departments of commerce and economic development and revenue. In 1978 he was promoted to section supervising attorney for the human services section which provided legal services to the departments of health and social services, labor and education. He served as counsel to the state board of education. In 1983 he was appointed deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue, a position he held until May 1986. There he oversaw the state's tax programs, child support enforcement, permanent fund dividends, charitable gaming, and alcohol beverage control.
Politics
Juneau Assembly and first mayoral term
Botelho began his political career in 1983 when he was elected to the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly. He was elected as mayor of Juneau in October 1988, serving until October 1991.
Alaska Attorney General
Botelho had returned to the Alaska Department of Law in mid-1987 as supervising attorney of the oil and gas section. In February 1992 he was appointed as deputy attorney general for Alaska. On January 12, 1994 he was appointed by Governor Walter J. Hickel as Attorney General and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature that May. In December 1994, Governor Hickel was succeeded by Tony Knowles, who asked Botelho to continue in office. He served until December 2002. As Attorney General, Botelho chaired the Criminal Justice Council and served as a trustee to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. He also chaired the Children's Confidentiality Task Force, the state team on state-tribal relations, the Governors Conference on Youth and Justice, and co-chaired the Criminal Justice Assessment Commission. He served as chief of staff for the Governor's Task Force on Civil Justice Reform and the Governor's Subsistence Task Force. He was an initial trustee of the Alaska Children's Trust. Major accomplishments of his tenure included oil and gas tax and royalty settlements in excess of $3 billion, settlement of the Alaska mental health lands trust litigation, lifting of the blockade of the Alaska state ferry Malaspina, Alaska's participation in the national tobacco litigation, natural resource and environmental protection actions against Tyson Seafood Group and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and reinvigorated antitrust enforcement including propane litigation and the Carrs-Safeway grocery and BP Amoco-Arco mergers.
Return to Juneau mayoralty (2003–2012)
In October 2003, he was elected to his second term as mayor of Juneau. Botelho was re-elected in October 2006 and again in October 2009. Botelho left office in 2012 after being term-limited. He was succeeded by Merrill Sanford. With 12 years served as mayor, Botelho is the longest-serving mayor in Juneau's history.
Walker transition team
Botelho was tapped to serve on Bill Walker's gubernatorial transition team in 2014. He served as temporary coordinator for the transition effort, serving into the first weeks of Walker's administration as the new governor appointed, removed, and retained a number of state government appointees. Walker's running mate, DemocratByron Mallott, is also a former mayor of Juneau.
Other memberships and awards
Botelho currently chairs the Partnership, a non-profit dedicated to the construction of a new arts and culture center in Juneau. In addition, he serves on the governance board of the Foraker Group and on the board of the Alaska Humanities Forum. Botelho was chair of the Tongass Futures Roundtable, served on the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission, was a director of the Alaska Municipal League and president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. He is a former trustee of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, an original trustee of the Alaska Children's Trust, and former chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. He has been an active participant in Scouting, having served as president of the Southeast Alaska Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and in numerous other volunteer Scouting capacities.. He is the recipient of the Alaska State Bar Association’s 2005 Pro Bono Award, its 2007 Jay Rabinowitz Public Service Award, and the Alaska Municipal League’s 2011 Vic Fischer Local Government Leadership Award. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Alaska Southeast in May 2018.
