Former Tennessee Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. vowed on Sunday to defend Wall Street if he challenges Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in this year's Democratic primary."I make no bones about it. New York City, New York state depend heavily on Wall Street," said Ford, currently a vice chairman and policy adviser to Wall Street firm Merrill Lynch, on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I'm a believer the system ought to be reformed but putting a tax on banks at a time in which the recovery is as timid as it is -- 680,000 New Yorkers work in this industry," Ford said, criticizing President Barack Obama's proposal to levy a fee on the largest financial firms to recoup taxpayer bailout money given the importance of their tax dollars to "the revenue of the city and the state of New York."
"I'm not afraid nor am I ashamed to say if I run for the Senate and I win I will defend the biggest industry in my state," Ford said.
Pressed by host David Gregory to disclose the sum of his own bonus, Ford said he would -- if he decides to actually run. Ford said he's paid New York taxes on all his income made there over the last two years, and for the first time in 2009 he and his wife are filing as New York residents.
Ford said he'd make the call on whether he's running "in the next few weeks" but said he's been "encouraged" by what he's hearing from voters around the state.