[1] Bragman entered politics as a Democrat, and was elected to the Cicero Town Council in 1965, and to the Onondaga County Legislature in 1969.
[1] 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.
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".
[1] 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.
He lost his leadership position and resigned his seat in December 2001, where he was succeeded by Republican William E. Sanford in a special election.