Dion Bracco: I Would Like to Set the Record Straight

Gilroy Councilman Dion Bracco came to Patch after reading articles in the Gilroy Dispatch that he viewed as an attack on his character. Bracco said the Dispatch dug into his past and reported on a 1989 arrest for drug possession and possession for the purpose of sale.

Now, Bracco wants to tell readers what lead to that haunting 1989 arrest and how it forever changed his life. Below is Bracco’s story, written by the council member himself. 

Dear Friends,

In recent weeks, I have been the subject of a number of very unfair and inaccurate and also highly political attacks by the editors of the Gilroy Dispatch. It is quite clear that behind these attacks is a hidden agenda tied to this November’s mayoral election in our city. The Dispatch has its candidate and it certainly isn’t me.

These recent stories are only the latest in a series of efforts by the Dispatch to impugn my character. They include assailing my religious faith, my company’s work, and even my legally-required compensation as a member of the council.

However, the last attack just went too far. I would like to set the record straight.

First of all, I have never hidden problems in my younger years from anyone. I have been through three election campaigns since 2003 and the Dispatch never found it necessary to dig into my past. They even endorsed me. Of course, I wasn’t running for mayor in those elections.

However, I feel compelled to share with Gilroy voters the entire, accurate story of my tragic involvement with drugs about a quarter of a century ago.

On September 16, 1986, I received a phone call that my father had been killed in a work accident. I was extremely close to my dad and became despondent as I tried to deal with this profound personal loss.

I got into drugs because I thought it masked the pain of dealing with his death. After getting deeper and deeper into this addiction, I wound up practically homeless, couch surfing wherever I could find a place to sleep. I was even working two jobs to support this awful habit.

I was in pretty bad shape by then, but because of friends who really cared about me, the police were notified. I was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession for sale. I was not, I repeat not, charged with selling anything.

Sitting in the county jail for three days was the worst experience anyone could ever live through. I was released pending my court date, only to be rejected by everyone I knew and with no place to go.

I really wanted to end it all, and I got on my knees and begged God to take me home—but, he had other plans for me.

I found myself on my Mom’s porch, not knowing if she would even open the door, but she did, so I asked her for help. She called my sister and a friend from my work who was clean and sober and  within days, I was admitted to the Beacon House in Pacific Grove.

This happened in July 1989, and during my stay at Beacon House, God changed me and gave me hope. To my surprise, my two past employers called and offered me jobs and my life slowly began to improve.

I still had legal matters to address, so I plead guilty to reduced charges in order to put this all behind me. I’ll never forget when the Judge said to me, “You’re going to do something special with your life. I can see that in you.”

I was sentenced to probation, house arrest and 100 hours of community service. It was while serving at the Lord’s Table and meeting the homeless and the needy that I found I really had a passion for serving others.

Since those dark days of the mid-to-late 1980s, I have never used drugs again. I was awarded full custody of my children and raised them as a single father, built a successful business, met and married a wonderful woman I met at church, and started giving back to my community.

I have and continue to help others get clean, mentor young men, speak to children and teens about my past, and advise parents struggling with the effects of drugs and gangs on their kids. I work to help the homeless and serve the seniors in our community.

I have never hidden my past, and the editors of the small-circulation Dispatch know this. Instead, I have come to embrace my past as a way God has given me to help others avoid the pain that drug abuse brings into a family and the entire community.

I’ve been told that my life is a story of hope, that if I could turn my life around, anyone can.