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Incumbent state Sen. John Gallus (R-Berlin) told PolitickerNH.com that he is working 12 to 14 hour days trying to get re-elected to the Senate District 1 seat.

Gallus is running for re-election against state Rep. Martha McLeod (D-Franconia).

For state Sen. Vince Fumo, it's time to play the waiting game.

The Philadelphia Democrat's massive corruption trial has been delayed yet again, this time for a month while the presiding judge recovers from an illness, The Inquirer reports.

U.S. District Judge William H. Yohn Jr. sasid he had not yet recovered from what he has described as a virus. Yohn was noticeably sick lastweek during jury selection, The Inquirer reports.

Fumo is retiring from the First Senatorial District seat he has held for three decades to fight the 139-count federal indictment. Democrat Larry Farnese is running against underdog Republican Jack Morley to replace him.

PHILADELPHIA - On the basement wall of Vince Fumo's district office in South Philadelphia hangs a painting that could end up telling his story better than he would hope. It's the famous "Sword of Damocles" piece, depicting the GrState Sen. Vince Fumo: Official Photoeek legend who switched places with a king only to discover a sharp sword looming ominously above him.

"There's always a sword hanging just above you," Fumo said to PolitickerPA.com recently, with a smirk. "The more powerful you get, the bigger a target you become."

The irony is hardly lost on Fumo, the 30-year Democratic state senator and Philadelphia political icon. A massive federal corruption trial, "a cloud" in his words, looms above.

This morning, in James A. Bryne Federal Courthouse here, the lawyers will be picking a jury to determine the fate of Fumo, who faces 139 charges of charges of corruption, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. In an indictment that reads like a textbook on political largesse, Fumo is accused of defrauding taxpayers, a charity and a museum out of millions of dollars he used for personal and political gain, and then seeking to cover it up when authorities started poking around. Fumo has denied any wrongdoing, and in local political circles, what begins today is nothing less than the trial of a lifetime.

It also signals a changing of the guard, with Fumo already having said goodbye to the Senate in an emotional speech in July. Soon, the powerful 1st District, which stretches from the airport to the Delaware River waterfront and includes Center City, will have a new man in Harrisburg.
But it is a sign of senator's continuing power that his almost-certain successor, Democratic nominee Larry Farnese, owes much of his ascension to Fumo's support.

DENVER--For months, former Philadelphia City Controller Joe Vignola was planning to run as an independent for the 1st Senatorial District seat long held by retiring and indicted state Sen. Vince Fumo (D-Philadelphia).

But when Fumo dropped out of what became a tightly-contested April primary that was taken by young Center City lawyer Larry Farnese, Vignola, a lifelong Democrat, decided not to run because it would cause trouble for the party's nominee.

With Democrats overwhelmingly outnumbering Republicans in the district, Republican Jack Morley is not expected to fare well in November.

During a cocktail party here Monday evening for the state delegation, Vignola expressed confidence in Farnese, but also some slight doubts.

"It's going to be a hard act to follow," Vignola said of replacing Fumo, who has held the seat for 30 years but faces a federal corruption trial in September. "The important thing is he has the intellectual ability to learn."

Democratic state Senate candidate Larry Farnese on Monday lambasted the state Supreme Court's recent ruling upholding two casinos' rights to contentious waterfront locations in Philadelphia.

In a statement, Farnese, who is running to replace longtime state Sen. Vince Fumo (D-Philadelphia) in the 1st Senatorial District,  said the court "has given away the store."

"While I recognize the benefits of properly developed casinos, I have long been a proponent of re-siting," Farnese said. "When I become your State Senator, I will continue to work to ensure that the voice of the neighborhoods most affected will continue to be heard."

Farnese faces Republican Jack Morley in November. 

GOP candidate for state Treasurer Tom Ellis went colonial for his turn at Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's Comedy NightPHILADELPHIA-There were jokes about John McCain's age. Jokes about Gov. Ed Rendell's robust figure. Jokes about Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's nerdy voice. And, oh, were there ever jokes about Vince Fumo's witness list.

And that was all before Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr made a surprise appearance.

It was one of the local political establishment's favorite nights here Tuesday night, as candidates for statewide races, Congressional races and down-ballot race joined a bevy of political insiders for Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's annual Candidates Comedy Night. In its 18th year, the fundraiser for a children's charity put more than a dozen political candidates on stage, not to campaign, but to make people laugh.

"The candidates before me tonight are not professional comics," Bykofsky warned his audience before U.S. Rep. Bob Brady opened the show. "They will prove that in a moment."

Gov. Ed Rendell, U.S. Reps Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah, and even former 76ers coach Larry Brown are just some of the big names on state Sen. Vince Fumo's (D-Philadelphia) list of potential witnesses for his looming federal corruption trial.

The witness list, reported by The Inquirer and The Daily News, names 267 people who could potentially be called to testify at Fumo's trial, which now starts in less than a month.

Also headlining the defense witness list are Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, and Philadelphia City Council President Anna Verna.

Fumo, the 30-year incumbent and Philadelphia political icon, is accused of improperly using Senate money and money from a charity he oversaw for personal and political gain. He has denied any wrongdoing, but decided not to run for reelection in the spring because of the indictment against.

Center City attorney Larry Farnese won a three-way Democratic primary battle to replace Fumo in April. He faces underdog Republican Jack Morley in November, and is widely expected to be the next state Senator in the 1st Senatorial District.

State Rep. Martha McLeod (D-Franconia) is running for the state senate.

McLeod will be facing current state Sen. John Gallus (R-Berlin) for the District 1 seat.