Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand today called on her potential primary opponent, Harold Ford Jr., to "be honest with the American public, with New York taxpayers" about the bonus he may or may not have received from Merrill Lynch.

"Did he receive a bonus? Is it a taxpayer-backed bonus? I think it’s essential that he disclose this information, I think New Yorkers have a right to know," Gillibrand said.

"My biggest concern is that his policy ideas are Reagan, excuse me, Bush-era trickle down economics. If you look at his ideas for how to solve the financial crisis, it’s corporate tax cuts with no strings attached. And we saw with the Bush administration that that failed and in fact it leaves us where we are now: Without any accountability and the taxpayers aren’t protected."

"So, I really have a fundamental disagreement about who are we fighting for how are we going to revive this economy."

The comptroller is the guy who usually announces pension fund proposals, but today it was Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, the DN's Erin Einhorn reports.

In the wake of last week's U.S. Supreme Court campaign finance ruling, de Blasio said he’ll use his vote on the NYCERS board to pressure corporations who want city pension fund investments to disclose their campaign expenditures and seek shareholder approval.

“By raising our voices together, institutional investors can help make sure that all shareholders get the information they need to properly hold corporations accountable,” de Blasio said.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a statement praising de Blasio for "training a spotlight on an issue of concern for all investors," adding: "We support this initiative." (He didn't mention anything about following his city colleague's lead, however).

Though the Supreme Court's decision opened the floodgate for both corporate and union spending, de Blasio, who takes in some of the largest hauls of labor campaign cash of any city elected, didn’t mention unions in his formal remarks

The latest elected official on Harold Ford Jr.'s lunch list is newly-minted Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who dined this afternoon with the former Tennessee congressman at City Hall restaurant, a de Blasio spokesman confirmed.

"Yes, they had lunch together today," said de Blasio spokesman Matt Wing.

"Bill also met with Sen. (Kirsten) Gillibrand and he will make a decision on an endorsement at a later time."

Wing said de Blasio and Gillibrand met sometime within the past month.

Last week, Ford lunched at Sylvia's with Assemblyman Keith Wright, the new Manhattan Democratic chairman.

He is scheduled to meet Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic chairman, at a Williamsburg restaurant on Friday.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been called many names by liberal Democrats in this town, but friendly to the homeless was not one of them.

Until now, the DN's Kate Lucadamo reports.

Newly-minted Public Advocate Bill deBlasio today called on Mayor Bloomberg to follow the lead of his predecessors - including Giuliani - by giving the homeless a priority on Section 8 housing.

“There were relatively few areas where you had agreement between Mayor Koch, Mayor Dinkins and Mayor Giuliani,” said de Blasio.

“...Some mayors with very different views of the world agreed on that and I think that should be something this mayor should look at."

Despite Rep. Jerrold Nadler successfully administering the oath on Jan. 1 to Bill de Blasio, the new public advocate got a do-over today in front of 700 of his nearest and dearest in an auditorium at his alma mater: New York University.

The DN's Erin Einhorn sent the following report...

In addition to phalanx of local pols - Nadler, Chuck Schumer, David Dinkins, Carolyn Maloney and assorted members of the Assembly and City Council - there were at least two actors on hand: Steve Buscemi, who endorsed de Blasio during the campaign, and "Sex In the City" star Cynthia Nixon, who moonlights as an education activist.

I tried to talk to Nixon but was body-blocked by de Blasio aide Matt Wing, who said Nixon’s people had asked that she not give interviews. “She’s an old friend of Bill’s and a big supporter,” Wing said.

(We'll have to take his word for it).

The spread was a dramatic improvement over De Blasio’s water-and-coffee reception on inauguration day.