Michael J. Bragman

Michael Jon Bragman was born on August 11, 1940, in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1963, and worked as a schoolteacher. ==Career==

Bragman entered politics as a Democrat, and was elected to the Cicero Town Council in 1965, and to the Onondaga County Legislature in 1969. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1981 to 2001, sitting in the 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd and 194th New York State Legislatures. During his first term, he was indicted on charges stemming from his time in the county legislature; he was accused of seeking $1.6 million in bribe money from a company selling an incineration plant, though he was acquitted. The New York Times said that Bragman "exerted a profound influence in the Assembly. He was credited with successfully sponsoring more than 300 bills and pumping some $200 million in pork-barrel funding for local projects in his Central New York State district, which was centered in Syracuse". ==Challenge to Sheldon Silver==

A centrist Democrat, he served as Majority Leader from 1993 to 2000, when he lost his position after leading an attempted coup against Speaker Sheldon Silver. The move came amid criticism from some Democrats in the assembly that Silver's leadership style was too aloof. ==Personal life and death==

In 1986, Bragman married Suzanne Collier, and they had three children. He died in Syracuse on October 13, 2023, at the age of 83. ==Notes==