It's hot inside of Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church in Ballard, where the 36th District Democrats are—thank Luther—trying to truncate the lengthy process for endorsing candidates. Jason Bennett, chair of the group, promises the meeting won't drag on like last night's five-hour nightmare at the 34th District Dem meeting. Under the rules here, if the 36th District Dems' executive committee votes two-thirds in favor of a candidate, then that motion goes to the floor, where members at large can ratify the decision by a vote of 50 percent plus one. In many cases, the executive committee has recommended a sole endorsement of one candidate (which essentially makes that person a shoo-in).

I'll continue to update this post as the group votes:

County Executive: Larry Phillips

Port Commissioner Position 3: Rob Holland

Port Commissioner Position 4: Max Vekich

Mayor: Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn

City Council Position 4: David Bloom (Burn on Sally Bagshaw, who had asked the group to split the endorsement with her. She spoke about how, even though she worked with a slew of Republicans over the years, she's a Democrat. What? Really, she's a Democrat. She swears.)

City Council Position 6: A proposal by the group's executive committee for a sole endorsement of Nick Licata is failing. A few speeches are underway, including one by former school board member Amy Hagopian, speaking in Licata's favor, who said, "I’m tired of voting for people because of the genitalia that they hold." The room responds with hisses and boos (and presumably some thoughts about holding genitalia). Members are now considering a dual endorsement of Licata and Jessie Israel. [time passes] That motion failed. No endorsement. That's actually a minor victory for Licata; the 36th is Israel's home district.

City Council Position 8: Bobby Forch

Court of Appeals, District 1: Anne Ellington

Referendum 1 (the bag tax): A debate is underway about whether you can "change people's behavior" by taxing the bags and if a bag fee is just handing money over to grocers. The vote is split and they move on. No Endorsement.

King County Assessor: The executive committee made no recommendation, so now the old hippies are speaking to the virtues of Lloyd Hara, who is currently a port commissioner. Others—even older hippies—are holding out for Rich Medved, who worked in the office under former assessor Scott Noble since the Summer of Love. But the group makes No Endorsement.

City Attorney: Pete Holmes

City Council Position 2: City Council Member Tim Burgess is asking the group to reject the executive committee’s recommendation for a sole endorsement of David Ginsberg. In response, the group does reject the sole endorsement, and a second motion is made endorse both Ginsberg and incumbent City Council Member Richard Conlin. [time passes] In a surprise move, the group turns down a dual endorsement, too. Now the group appears to be favoring a sole endorsement of Conlin (the opposite of the executive committee's recommendation in the two-person race). And indeed, the sole endorsement goes to Conlin—a roast on toast for Ginsberg.

D-bag Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033: Unanimously Rejected

And at 9:40 p.m. it's over. But before candidates leave, Bennett gets all James Brown on their asses by telling them to take down all their signs or he's going to fine them $5 for each one.