One guy said he didn't give a "flying fandango" about the upcoming mayoral election. Another said Hizzoner, Ed Rendell, should run for a third time, despite what the city charter says.

Two businesspeople want the next mayor to lower business taxes and seem to think that Republican Sam Katz is the candidate to do it.

One man said Democratic candidate John Street scares him; two women liked his views on education.

And so it went yesterday at lunchtime at the Reading Terminal Market, as the Daily News conducted a highly unscientific survey about what folks think about the mayor's race.

Overall, passion for the race and its participants was lacking - except for those who didn't like Street. Lucky for him, a lot of those who spoke against him can't vote in Philadelphia.

Joe Harrisson, 39, of Upper Darby, who repairs computers in the city, couldn't say enough against the Democratic contender.

"How many times did he declare personal bankruptcy, and he's going to run a city? Give me a break. He scares me," he said, as his friend, Leo Tinges, 45, nodded in agreement.

"I live in his district, and he's done nothing for it," said Mitchell Robinson, 46, who's worked at the 12th Street Cantina for 10 years.

"Neither one seems too good to me," Robinson said. "I don't know if I will vote."

Two more-than-probable Street voters were Alyssa Ridley, 30, and her friend, Aimee Douglas, 27, who work with troubled kids. They, like others, pondered why John F. White Jr., himself a Democratic contender in the primary, recently endorsed Katz for mayor.

"That was something I can't understand him doing," said Douglas, who is a juvenile probation officer in Family Court.

She worked with Street's wife, Naomi Post, the former deputy chief of Juvenile Probation and admitted that her association with Post is influencing her voting decision.

"Was it out of spite, or to honestly promote. . .Katz?" she asked about White.

"I like his views on education," said Ridley, who works for Children Services Inc. "I will probably vote for Street. I voted for him in the primary. I thought he had a better chance of winning."

Noelle Margerum's family has been running its Old Fashion Corner at the market since 1893. Yesterday, Noelle, who lives in New Jersey, said her accountant told her that she pays the highest business taxes among his clients. She prefers Katz to Street.

She said she hasn't seen Street since the week before the primary, when he came in every day, soliciting her support.

Jay Leyden, who works for Aramark, was eating lunch before he was not-too-rudely interrupted. He's just moved here from Chicago, but has been paying some attention to the race.

"It's very mixed up," he said. "In Chicago, it's predetermined. Here, you got a Democrat endorsing a Republican. It's much more confusing."

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