Welcome to the Blogtown Election Vulture's Lair, where in this post we'll be covering the Portland race for mayor. Scroll down for the latest on the Oregon Attorney General race, council races, ballot measures... everything else. The latest updates start at the top of the page! For up to the second news and results follow us on the Twitter @portlandmercury, and in particular #mercelex.
Signed,
Mercury 1st Election Battalion (nickname: Nightmare Warriors)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 10:37 pm: Well the "10:30 pm" results are in, and while not a poop ton of votes have been added, the numbers are basically the same. Check it: Charlie Hales 38.36 percent, Jefferson Smith 29.22, Eileen Brady 23.80 percent. Unless something crazy happens between now and the morning light, we have our two mayoral candidates who will be butting heads all the way to November. Amanda Fritz and Mary Nolan are tied at 44 percent, and the only clear winners of the night are Ellen Rosenblum (AG), Steve Novick (city council), Bob Stacey (metro), Sam Chase (metro) and the Multnomah County Library (who I'm sure is gonna be wicked hungover tomorrow). Be sure to check out our party-night election wrap-up in this week's edition of the Mercury, hitting the streets by early afternoon tomorrow! THANKS FOR JOINING US!

Eileen Brady party 10:32 pm: "Hey," I thought, "Maybe everybody went up to party on the top of the boat!" (EH)

[Is that a river tumbleweed I just saw?—WSH]

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 10:09 pm: Looks like a low turnout election—campaigns estimate only 35 to 40 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. The next round of results is due at 10:30 pm—that is if you're not already in bed, or watching Revenge on your DVR. Have you guys seen Revenge? It's actually pretty fun. I'm tired. (WSH)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 9:43 pm: 19-year-old mayoral candidate Max Brumm tweets:

(Will you at least concede that Hostess Twinkies are delicious??)

Eileen Brady party 9:30 pm:

SADDEST BOAT EVER!! (EH)

Jefferson Smith party 9:13 pm: Alright, Jeff's finally arrived! I caught him on the street. His dad tried to make him cross the street on a red light, but Jeff waited for the green. (That's what happens when you get the police union endorsement.) And, aww, that's sweet! He won't stop kissing his wife. (AZ)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 9:25 pm: Now here's a happy-looking guy.

Jefferson Smith party 9:13 pm: I hear Jefferson's been spotted at the Jupiter Hotel, home of the party for the three Multnomah County commissioner races and the library vote. But I kid you not, this has turned into a Bollywood dance party. The DJ is now a dance instructor, and old folks are shaking their thang. EXCELLENT. (AZ)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 9:02 pm: The 9 pm results are in and here's how it stacks up: Charlie Hales 38.28 percent, Jefferson Smith 29.02 percent, and Eileen Brady an even 24 percent. OUCH!! In some good news for Eileen, Tre Arrow is far in the back of the pack with a mere .72 percent. In your FACE, Tre! (WSH)

Eileen Brady party 9 pm: Results on TV: Hales 39 percent, Smith 29 percent, Brady 24 percent. Other than reporters, no one at the Eileen Brady party is even watching. (EH)

Jefferson Smith party 8:58 pm: Right now there's a crazy DJ with a scarf on, who's pumping house music. I'm confused. Where am I? Where is Jefferson Smith? Is this a dream? Jeff's dad is dancing. (AZ)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 8:55 pm: The Oregonian is calling it... Mitt Romney is the Oregon Republican pick for President! (This message brought to you by Lake Oswego.)

Jefferson Smith party 8:50 pm: A ton of celebs are here, Cameron Whitten, Teressa Raiford (who's rooting for Fritz), Jeff Cogen, etc. Really lively, BIG crowd. Still no sign of Jeff. I still haven't eaten, which I'm just realizing. Everyone's getting loopy and yelling at each other over the music. Woo! (AZ)

Charlie Hales party 8:50: In the battle for fourth place in the mayor's race, architect Scott Rose, who took a hard line against Occupy but talked up mental health awareness for the cops, was just ahead of Scott Fernandez—a candidate who made his bones pushing a single issue: water rates—and young activist and occasional Occupy organizer Cameron Whitten. Neither had more than 1.19 percent of the vote. (DT)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 8:50 pm: Next results are due at 9 pm. Jefferson and Eileen are currently chewing their nails off. (WSH)

Eileen Brady party 8:39 pm:

Considering cutting ropes, sailing somewhere. This boat might as well be a goddamn building. Just sitting here. WASTE OF A BOAT #mercelex
— Erik Henriksen (@erik_henriksen) May 16, 2012

Eileen Brady party 8:28 pm: Eileen arrives. Everybody's cheering. She takes the stage. People chant "EI-LEEN" over and over. "We are waiting to see what the next round of results is gonna be. We are keeping the faith... We have run an incredible race. IT IS NOT OVER YET. The votes have not all been counted."

Charlie Hales party 8:20 pm: Asked if he expected to be out in first place by 10 points in the mayoral race, Hales says, "No. In a word." He says he credits a grassroots campaign, knocking on 35,000 doors and listening to Portlanders about the issues they cared most about: "You hope that gets you traction," he says, "and that that substantial basis is better than marketing. And we were up against a significant amount of marketing." Was he surprised that Brady was third? Yep. "It really seemed like she faded." (DT)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 8:27 pm:

SHUT YOUR STUPID FACE, TODD!!

Eileen Brady party 8:06 pm: No Eileen. Only star attractions here are TV reporters. (EH)

Charlie Hales party 8:06 pm: Major shouts erupted at Hales Central as campaign staffers scribbled the early results on a big piece of paper. Hales seems assured a spot in the runoff. He's up 10 points over Smith and 14 over Brady. Now the cameras have found him and he's kissing his wife and beaming. (DT)

From the Mercury Vulture's Lair 8:05 pm: The first election results from Multnomah County are in, and here's how it's shaping up: Charlie Hales 38.53 percent, Jefferson Smith 28.75 percent, Eileen Brady 24.11 percent. It's a horse race for second place, people! (WSH)

Eileen Brady party 7:55 (on the Portland Spirit):

MORE DETAILS AS I GET THEM. (Erik Henriksen)

Charlie Hales Party 7:40 pm: Hales was overheard directing someone to the refreshments table: "There's beer and there's wine." Unlike the posher parties with full bars, paid or not, his people aren't pouring any of the hard stuff. They're pulling from two kegs of Widmer beer and dispensing wine. It's still very low key, with just a few dozen people milling about, some of them in shorts and Hawaiian shirts. (DT)

Jefferson Smith Party 7:37 pm: The library/county scene is very mellow. They have free food! Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" just came on at Jefferson Smith's hoopla, but Two and a Half Men is still being projected on one of the main walls. Campaign sitcom? Questionable. AND NO FREE FOOD. So far, only orange-shirt-wearing Jeff supporters and news folk are here. Booze is a'flowin. No sign of Jeff—yet. (Alex Zielinski)

From the Mercury Election Vulture's Lair 7:35 pm: Denis just ichatted the following:

I thought I smelled something. [UPDATE AND CONFIRMED! Brady adviser Neel Pender just got up on the mic to thank everybody and then tell them that Brady won't be here until the first round of results come in. (EH)]
By the way, it's 25 minutes to first election results, and this is the way you saw the mayor's race going as of yesterday:

Anybody want to change their mind? LAST CHANCE! (WSH)

Charlie Hales party 7:10 pm: Hales' campaign has Otto's Sausages grilling on the sidewalk along SE Grand next to a VW bus serving shaved ice. I was worried because all I saw earlier was a half eaten bag of Kettle potato chips. And now I reek of smoke. (DT)

Charlie Hales party 6:50 pm: Having a party at campaign headquarters fits in with Hales' political messages of earnestness and getting back to the "basics." And so far, with Hales having cemented his status as likely frontrunner according to two recent public polls, things are chill and relaxed. Hales just showed up after darting out for a quick gym workout to "blow off nervous energy." Earlier, after a day spent working the phones, he was walking around in a T-shirt and jeans, helping his staff move desks. "I pumped desks and then I pumped iron." (Denis Theriault)