20 Facts About Cecil Bothwell

In 2011, Cecil Bothwell announced he would challenge US Representative Heath Shuler in the Democratic primary for North Carolina's 11th congressional district in the 2012 US House of Representatives election.

Cecil Bothwell was born in 1950 in Oak Park, Illinois, graduated from Winter Park High School lived in several states and held several jobs in the area of Asheville, North Carolina.

Cecil Bothwell moved to Buncombe County, North Carolina in 1981 to work in construction with an emphasis on environmental building.

Cecil Bothwell was an editor of the alternative newspaper Mountain Xpress and published nonfiction and poetry as well as music.

Cecil Bothwell is the author of Usin' the Juice: an oratorio; Whale Falls: An exploration of belief and its consequences; The Prince of War: Billy Graham's Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire, which reports on the political activity of North Carolina preacher Billy Graham; Asheville's best-selling guide book; and a syndicated column, "Duck Soup".

In 2008, Cecil Bothwell ran unsuccessfully for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, and ran for the Asheville, North Carolina city council in 2009, winning the most votes in the October 6 primary election.

Cecil Bothwell raised more than $19,000 for his council election and ran as a progressive candidate in support of water conservation, government reform, and eliminating capital punishment.

Cecil Bothwell stated that he favored the public financing of elections and would support its implementation as a city council member.

Cecil Bothwell had been endorsed by the Asheville Fire Fighters Association.

Cecil Bothwell was elected on November 3,2009, to the city council after he won the third highest number of votes in the city election.

Cecil Bothwell began his service with an affirmation of the oath of office.

Cecil Bothwell was raised as a Presbyterian, became a non-theist by the age of 20, and is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cecil Bothwell later stated that he believed the question of the existence of a deity was irrelevant to governance and that he believed in the Golden Rule.

Consequent to the well-publicized challenge to his investiture in office, Cecil Bothwell was named the most Courageous Elected Official of 2010 by the American Atheists.

Cecil Bothwell became a frequent speaker at humanist, secular and atheist conferences across the US, speaking in dozens of cities in 12 states and Washington DC in ensuing years.

On June 19,2014, Cecil Bothwell was pulled over after a state highway patrol officer noticed he was driving a car with no license plate, which belonged to one of his friends.

The car was legally registered, legally had no plate, and Cecil Bothwell had committed no moving violation.

Cecil Bothwell chose to plead guilty instead of challenging the wrongful arrest.

In January 2017, citing the enthusiasm generated by Our Revolution, Cecil Bothwell re-registered as a Democrat.

On October 10,2017, Cecil Bothwell lost in the 2017 Asheville primary local election, finishing 7th out of 12 candidates.