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 rose to the top position in the department in 1994, when Governor Walter 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.

There he oversaw the state's tax programs, child support enforcement, permanent fund dividends, charitable gaming, and alcohol beverage control.

On January 12, 1994 he was appointed by Governor Walter J. Hickel as Attorney General and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature that May.

As Attorney General, Botelho chaired the Criminal Justice Council and served as a trustee to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.

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.

Botelho organized and led a citizen’s initiative to restore the program, collecting the requisite signatures in record time.

The proposition called for the implementation of open primaries, ranked choice voting and campaign finance reform.

The new voting system was put to an unexpected early trial when Congressman Don Young died in March 2022 and a special primary and general election to replace him was held.

Kelly Tshibaka and Sarah Palin, candidates who lost their respective races for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have undertaken efforts to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska and elsewhere.

Opposition coalesced around proponents’ arguments to change the judiciary, embed Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividend in the constitution, and curtail abortion rights, among others.