"We knew it was going to be close," Nickels tells the SECB when we ask what he makes of his depressing numbers. He notes that, while votes are counted, "It is going to be a nervous couple of days."

The problem—apparently—is that the election has generally bad energy. It "has no feng shui," Nickels says. The speakers are meekly squeeking out MJ's "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough."

And Nickels has not had enough. Assuming he does pull into first or second place (he's in third as of this moment), he says, "The general election is a whole different ballgame. It is an opportunity to talk about my record."

He said the next leg of the race was a chance to get beyond 30-second sound bites. But, as the SECB pointed out to him, he's had eight years—we're buzzed on chardonnay like the rest of the crowd here, but we're pretty sure that's a lot more than 30 seconds—to get his point across, and over 50 percent of voters still aren't sold. So how is he going to convince people in the next two months that he needs another shot?

"That's going to be my challenge," says Nickels.

People are hugging, patting one another with the pats of skepticism, and heading for the door.