John Street is barreling along in his effort to capture the Hispanic vote.

The question is, does it matter?

At the Puerto Rican Day festivities on the weekend, the Democratic mayoral candidate strode through the crowds flanked by dozens of supporters. His Spanish-language campaign posters were everywhere. At the post-parade concert in North Philadelphia, Street waved to an enthusiastic crowd from center stage before the main act.

"I think it's my vote," Street told a reporter at the parade.

Many community leaders agree that Street is way ahead of Katz with this predominantly Democratic group.

But there are problems.

First is Street's icy relations with the city's two Hispanic elected officials, City Councilman Angel Ortiz and state Rep. Ben Ramos.

"He's been to a number of events that we have been to, and he never even said hello to us," said Ramos. "He comes onto the scene in a very disrespectful way."

Ramos said the door is "wide open" for Republican candidate Sam Katz, who has recently been approaching some Hispanic leaders for support.

"I know a number of Latino Democrats who are endorsing Katz," said Ramos. "If he calls me. . .I will talk to him."

Ortiz said Street recently called him and they will be meeting soon. "I'm going to be out there supporting the Democrats," Ortiz said. "The thing is that he has to reach out to the whole party. I think he's beginning to do that."

Katz, meanwhile, plans to air Spanish-language radio ads and distribute Spanish-language brochures, said campaign director Bob Barnett.

"I think that it's a vote that's very persuadable and needs to be paid attention to," Barnett said. "Sam's had meetings with any number of Hispanic leaders and Hispanic activists, and we have very substantial support, and I think it will be very visible on election day."

The importance of the Hispanic vote is debatable.

While Hispanics have recently shown power out west, contributing to the ouster of a Republican governor in California, the local group is still "a sleeping giant," as one community leader put it.

By official estimates, the city's Hispanic population is nearly 105,000, or 7 percent of the population. Community leaders say the actual population is at least twice that. It is largely Puerto Rican, but is increasingly Mexican and Central American.

In the May Primary, 11,000 Hispanics voted, said Juan Ramos, a Street campaign worker who for years led a voter registration drive. That number was higher than the usual Hispanic turnout, but still represented less than 4 percent of the total votes cast and less than one-fifth of the registered Hispanic voters. According to Ramos, just under 58,000 Hispanics are registered to vote.

"I'm sure that each mayoral campaign will try their hardest to court and awake this community because they're a bloc of voters who are out there who aren't necessarily loyal to one party or another," said Larry Ceisler, a political consultant who worked on Rick Mariano's City Council campaign and did outreach in the Hispanic community. "Even though in Philadelphia, they tend to be traditionally Democrat, they're up for grabs. But I question if there's anything to grab. . .For whatever reason, the general Hispanic population at large just is not interested in the political process."

One leader in the Hispanic community, who did not want to be identified, said he does not expect a significant turnout in November.

He said Street is in solid position and many Hispanics don't feel a need to vote because of that. "Because of the overwhelming number of Democrats in this city, we are not going to play much of an influence," he said.

But others disagree.

Hispanic registration and voter turnout has been steadily increasing, and the community is getting more excited about the election, said Wilfredo Rojas, past president of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights.

Having Ramos as a prominent campaign worker for Street will bring more voters out, Rojas said, adding that he expects the Hispanic turnout to double on Nov. 2.

"If it comes down to a close race, the Latino community and the Asian community will definitely be the edge, and I think Mr. Street is aware of that. That's why he's courting the Latino community," he said.

"I don't know what Mr. Katz is doing but he better do something very quickly," Rojas said. "His message is not getting out."

In the primary, Marty Weinberg, not Street, won the two predominantly Hispanic wards, the 7th and the 19th. Weinberg was supported by ward leaders Angel Cruz and Carlos Matos. But Street came in a strong second.

Rojas said 96 percent of Puerto Ricans are Democratic, and most vote party line.

But that doesn't mean Katz won't try to capture those votes, Barnett said.

"If what we were worried about is whether people were predominantly Democrats, there wouldn't be an election this year," he said. "People are concerned about issues that affect their neighborhoods. They're not concerned about party and they're not concerned about race."

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