This week marks the traditional beginning of the mayoral election campaign.

Are we interested yet?

All summer, Republican candidate Sam Katz has been campaigning in every neighborhood, shaking every possible hand and running lots of campaign ads on TV.

Democrat John Street hasn't.

Then again, maybe he hasn't had to. Street is the front-runner, with a heavy registration advantage. Some pros say any effort would have been wasted because voters just aren't paying attention yet. Better to spend the time raising money.

Each candidate's pollsters tell him he's pursuing the correct strategy, and the other guy is making a big mistake. We'll find out in eight weeks.

Meanwhile, it's time to get interested.

Our slow engagement in considering the race for the city's future comes in the wake of a historic vote in East Timor last week. There, despite violence and intimidation, 98.6 percent of registered voters turned out to vote in a referendum on independence. It would be stunning to get two-thirds of that percentage in Philadelphia on Nov. 2.

But this is not a lecture on taking our freedom for granted, although we could use one. The courage of the East Timorese is awe-inspiring, but it's also true that the people there could see clearly how the future was linked directly to their votes.

The choice Philadelphians face is much more subtle. Both Democratic and Republican candidates are competent leaders who love this city - and who believe Ed Rendell has taken the town in the right direction.

Yet Street and Katz have laid out very different blueprints - especially on schools and budget - to build on the foundation Rendell has constructed.

There are other issues as well - of patronage, for one thing, and personality, for another.

So there is a choice. For some voters, especially the supporters of some of the Democratic primary losers, it could be an agonizing one.

In the next two months, besides TV ads, you'll have loads of chances to see and hear the candidates, to help you decide what happens here in the next millennium. That is, if you're interested.