Dion Bracco withdrew from the Gilroy mayoral race June 19, citing health reasons related to a recent surgery.
In a statement, Bracco said it would be “unfair to the voters and residents of Gilroy” to go forward with the race during these “extremely challenging economic times” if “I’m not able to give it 100 percent of my time, energy and effort.”
“The next mayor will face one of the most difficult periods in our city’s history and whoever that is needs to give the job everything he or she can,” he said. “Unfortunately, at this time, I’m not in a position to do that.”
He said he plans to continue serving on the council and “doing all I can to spur an economic revival in our community after the lockdown and will look forward to working with the next mayor in a constructive, collaborative and cooperative manner.”
First elected to the council in 2005 and re-elected in 2010, 2014 and 2018, Bracco is the CEO of Bracco’s Towing and Transport, Inc. His current term on the council expires in 2022.
Bracco was the first to announce his candidacy for mayor on May 21. The mayor’s seat will be vacated by Roland Velasco, who announced in January that he would not be seeking re-election in November.
The nomination period for candidates to declare their intentions for the Nov. 3 election opens July 13 and runs through Aug. 7. For information, visit tinyurl.com/u83vdru.
