Bothwell was elected to the Asheville, North Carolina city council in 2009 and reelected in 2013, but lost in the 2017 primary, coming in 7th out of 12 candidates.

[6] 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".

[6] 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.

[4] Law experts argued the provision was invalid because the United States Constitution prevents religious tests for public office.

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

He became a frequent speaker at humanist, secular and atheist conferences across the U.S., speaking in dozens of cities in 12 states and Washington D.C. in ensuing years.

On June 19, 2014, Bothwell was pulled over after a state highway patrol officer noticed he was driving a car with no license plate,[16][17] which belonged to one of his friends.

[16] While Bothwell's attorney asserted that the stop itself was illegal since there was no moving violation and driving without a tag is legal under North Carolina law, when the case was adjudicated in November 2014, the District Attorney threatened to pursue charges against the car's owner for aiding and abetting (which would have accorded the friend the equivalent of a DUI on her record).