By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — After days of letting senior Sen. Chuck Schumer and other political heavyweights do the talking, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stood up for herself Wednesday against political rival Harold Ford Jr.
Gillibrand responded to a letter from Ford requesting that the New York senators “put the people first” and vote no on the health care bill by saying, “I will take a backseat to no one when it comes to fighting for New York.”
The senator's response insinuated that Ford, who moved to New York three years ago, was out of touch with the state's residents.
"If Harold Ford wants to move from Tennessee and run in New York, he is welcome to do so and I welcome an honest comparison of our records and our work for New York," Gillibrand said, the New York Post reported.
The former Tennessee congressman has publicly expressed his interest in Gillibrand’s seat several times in the past week, and though he has not declared his candidacy, his actions are strong indicators of his intent to run.
Thursday morning he said he would join Rev. Al Sharpton — who Gillibrand's team is expecting an endorsement from — in his relief mission to Haiti on Friday, and just days ago he expressed his support of gay marriage, which he had previously wanted to constitutionally ban.
Sen. Schumer, who discouraged potential challengers to Gillibrand — including Rep. Carolyn Maloney — reportedly met with Ford last week to ask him to stand down. The White House is also backing Gillibrand.
"Harold who?" Harlem State Sen. Bill Perkins said in response to questions about Ford, pointing out that Ford is new to town and had only very recently registered to vote.
Perkins said "it would take quite a quick study" to make it in New York politics. The senator said that he has not officially endorsed Gillibrand but he would be meeting privately with her this evening and he would "take it from there."
But Ford has not been deterred by the naysayers.
“It’s true: I am strongly considering a run for the United States Senate,” Ford wrote in a New York Post Op-Ed on Monday.
“Some have already questioned whether I should be running. Others are falsifying my record in public life. New Yorkers deserve a free election,” he wrote.
Assemblyman Keith Wright, who chairs the Manhattan Democrats, is hosting a meeting Thursday night with Gillibrand and local officials. The group has not yet endorsed a senate candidate.
