Only moments after entering Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office in 2011, Erik Bottcher knew that same-sex marriage would be legalized in New York.

Bottcher, who grew up in Wilmington, had just taken the train up to Albany from New York City. It was his first day on the job as the governor’s special assistant for community affairs, a job with a focus on the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community.

“I got the email; it said the governor wants to see you right now,” Bottcher said. “I go into the governor’s office, and there is an enormous, ornate office, and there he was behind his desk, and he said, ‘I want to know what went wrong in 2009 when the marriage equality bill failed. Why didn’t it pass? What worked, what didn’t work, and what do we do differently this time?'”

Cuomo told him they were going to go at the issue “like a campaign” and get the bill passed that session.

“It was an emotional moment for me because I knew that bill was going to pass,” said Bottcher, who is openly gay.

The Marriage Equality Act did pass in July 2011, only months after that meeting.

Bottcher’s journey into politics began with life experiences back home here in the Adirondacks. Now, 36, he is the son of Jerry and Linda Bottcher, owners of the Hungry Trout Resort in Wilmington.

“When I was in high school I had a tough time,” Bottcher said. “There was isolation. There was loneliness. There was bullying. I felt I was the only gay person in the world. There were no role models on television. There was no positive messages in the media.”

Luckily, Bottcher said he had a loving family that helped him through it. After graduating from Lake Placid High School, Bottcher went on to attend George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There, as a freshman in college, he first began to get involved in LGBT advocacy.

“We did activities around the topics of HIV/AIDS, education, and we did events to promote diversity and acceptance at the school,” he said. “Finally being in a metropolitan area, it was such an incredible and freeing experience.”

In college he also wrote a letter to the Lake Placid Board of Education, describing the atmosphere of anti-gay bullying he experienced.

“I don’t think I ever stood in front of a mailbox for that long before or since,” he said. “I sent the letter, and the following year the Lake Placid school district added a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy.”

Bottcher said it was in that moment he decided to help others who were facing adversity.

“That experience is part of me and is part of what drives me to help others who are going through tough circumstances,” Bottcher said. “Whether it’s the LGBT community or other communities.”

After college, Bottcher worked for a time as a real estate agent in Manhattan and was involved in politics and activism in his free time. It became clear to him that politics was his motivation and that he should devote his life to it.

In 2007, Bottcher was involved with Hillary Clinton’s presidential primary campaign, helping the candidate organize events. Shortly after the campaign, a LGBT community liaison position opened up with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office. Bottcher got the job and has been working in government ever since.

“In that role I worked with constituents in all five boroughs assisting them with issues relating to, for example, helping uninsured HIV-positive individuals gain access to medication, assisting runaway and homeless youth in finding affirming homes, helping victims of hate violence and hate crimes find their voice and navigate the criminal justice system,” he said.

Bottcher also organized self-defense classes and marches in response to hate crimes.

“I would get phone calls from people who had been assaulted on the street just because they were perceived to be gay,” Bottcher said. “They called our office because they knew about our work and trusted us.”

In January 2011, Cuomo hired Bottcher. It was a sign, according to some in the media, that the governor was serious about LGBT issues, including marriage equality.

Months later Cuomo would kick off his “People First” tour, where he spent weeks going across the state to places like Buffalo and Long Island stumping for issues. In May 2011, Bottcher was with the governor at a campaign event in the Lake Placid Conference Center.

“The governor was there raising support for his agenda, including marriage equality,” Bottcher said. “It was a surreal moment to be back in Lake Placid with the governor talking about marriage equality.”

After the rally was over, Bottcher said he walked across the street to the high school and introduced himself to the administration there.

Bottcher said thinking back on his childhood in the Adirondacks, he “wouldn’t change a thing.” He still loves visiting his family in Wilmington and comes back from time to time to go on camping trips. He said growing up in the Adirondacks gave him a love of nature and a wide perspective on life.

“A part of me is still from that small town,” he said. “I appreciate the things the city has to offer so greatly just because I wasn’t raised around any of it.”

But after a few days up in the North Country, Bottcher admits, he begins to miss the big city life. He continues to live in New York City, where this January he was hired as the chief of staff for New York City Council member Corey Johnson, who represents the city’s Third District, which includes the Manhattan neighborhoods of Chelsea, Hells Kitchen and the West Village. Bottcher has his own staff now and is working on a broad range of issues that affect city life.

Despite major victories for the gay rights movement, like the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer that gay marriage is a nationwide right, Bottcher said more work needs to be done.

“The fact is that two people of the same gender cannot walk down the street holding hands in most parts of New York City without fear of violence,” Bottcher said. “Two people of the same gender can get married in 50 states, but they can’t walk down the street without fear of violence. That’s a fact, and that shows how much work we have to do.”