The murmur in the Country Club Restaurant on Cottman Avenue in the Northeast yesterday morning had more to do with politics than poached eggs.

The guy in the corner booth - those glasses, that red tie, the dark suit - it must be him.

Sam Katz allowed an omelet to interrupt an otherwise-busy day, punctuated plenty with the phrase: "Hi, I'm Sam Katz. I'm running for mayor."

Diner customers stopped to shake his hand, wish him luck, promise to cross political party lines - charmed Democrats voting for the relaxed Republican.

Carol Clydesdale watched from a nearby table, saying she likes both Katz and Democrat John Street. She plans to vote for Katz, but seemed to be suffering a little campaign fatigue.

"I wish they would stop the negative," she said. "I think you should stand on what you believe in and not throw mud."

Chuck Linenberg stopped by to wish Katz luck. He has not been pleased with Street's discussion of issues during the debates.

"People are looking for specific solutions to fix this city's problems," he said. "The city has lost a lot of people. They went where the jobs are."

Some said they were still not sure which way they would vote.

"Anyone who's undecided today is going to be a non-voter in two days," Katz said. "They're not going to learn anything in two days."

Katz's next stop - not on the campaign schedule - was to watch his 11-year-old son, Ben, play soccer on a William Penn Charter High School field.

There, suburban parents cheered their children on. Some wished for a vote in tomorrow's race, a chance to support Katz.

Beverly Walker moved from the city to Wyndmoor but still owns property in Germantown and considers Katz capable of stopping the suburban stampede.

"It's been discouraging, to see Germantown deteriorate," she said. "It's frustrating, not being able to vote for" Katz.

Katz was joined by his 17-year-old son, Phil, and 13-year-old daughter, Liz, who ducked behind her father as a newspaper photographer took aim.

Her father has run for mayor before, so she's accustomed to the attention.

"I think of it as normal," she said, "but obviously it's not."

Politics seemed to recede a bit as the family cheered Ben on. Connie Katz, never much of a soccer fan, compared her son's game to her husband's race.

"I don't think I was ever interested in politics until I knew the player," she said. "It's the same with sports when it's your kid."

The Katz crowd climbed back into their black Lincoln Navigator and headed home to Mount Airy for a bathroom break and a quick game of fetch with the family dog, Jabo, before heading back to Cottman Avenue for a Roosevelt Mall flea market.

Standing at her booth, Pat Rankin told Katz he had her vote. She followed Frank Rizzo to the Republican party and never looked back at the Democrats.

"He's a shoo-in, to me" Rankin said of Katz. "I just can't stand that Street."

Katz roamed the booths of used clothes and athletic equipment before heading home again to start signing 700 thank-you notes for campaign contributors and to prepare for the Henri David Halloween Ball at the Wynd-ham Franklin Plaza Hotel.

What does a relaxed Republican wear to such a gala event?

"I'm not going as anything," said the costume-free candidate. "I'm just going to show up. I gotta be me."