(Photo above courtesy King County, added 7:32 pm; original report and photos start below)

ORIGINAL 4:02 PM REPORT: We’re at Daniels Recital Hall downtown, the former 1st United Methodist Church, where West Seattleite Dow Constantine is about to be sworn in as King County Executive. As you’d expect, it’s a who’s-who of local politics here – we’ve seen West Seattleites Mayor Greg Nickels, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and State Sen. Joe McDermott (who’s hoping to succeed Constantine as King County Councilmember for District 8) so far, as well as State Rep. Sharon Nelson. 4:08 PM UPDATE: The chair of his transition team is giving introductory remarks. And now (4:11), State Rep. Nelson is speaking – starting by saying, “This is a new day for King County” and then talking about the fight to protect Maury Island (where she lives) and the rest of Puget Sound. 4:18 PM: Constantine has been sworn in and is giving his “100-day plan” speech. “These are challenging times,” he says. He’s talking about “growing up in West Seattle, the son of two schoolteachers.” … “The era of government by mere good intention is over. Starting today, we will begin to build partnerships … to lead to fundamental change in the way King County government does business. … and we promise to preserve quality of life … in a way that is sustainable.” He speaks of green jobs, environmental protection, and is thanking his family as well as his “army” of campaign volunteers.

4:26 PM: Constantine says he wants “a culture of performance” to change county government and says that Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett (the eastside State Senator who ran for the County Executive job in the primary) will lead the effort to create that culture. He also stresses an emphasis on customer service. “My administration will represent all of King County — rural, suburban, urban.” That includes “reprioritizing Metro transit services,” he promises. He says he rode the number 56 bus (from West Seattle) today. He says it’s time to stop allocating Metro services based on old formulas and “political divisions.” Reducing costs, improving customer services – he says county employees “will be our best partners” toward making that happen. “We know that you know how to make things work better” – in a “culture of continuous improvement.” He promises a program to have the County Executive “walk a day in the shoes of a county employee.” He mentions having cut 15% of the staffing levels in the County Executive office and says that he and other staffers in the office have taken salary cuts from what people who held those jobs before were making. He says county government will be more user-friendly and transparent … “This is a tall order, and we will need all hands on deck.”

4:33 PM: He is quoting Bill Gates and Jimi Hendrix – the latter, “In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” He promises to harness the “innovation and spirit that built this region” — while protecting values including stewardship, sacrifice, service, rights. “This belief that we can do it, and do it right, is why we’re here today. … I want to thank the people of King County for their vote of confidence.” Short speech, less than 20 minutes, and after that sentence, plus several rounds of “thank you” – it’s over.

4:37 PM: The Total Experience Gospel Choir is singing now (another West Seattle touch – they practice at Kenyon Hall). “Lean On Me” — appropriate since Constantine told the crowd, in the final lines of his speech, that he and his administration would need everyone’s help. (We’ll publish a separate report later with video from the speech and clearer photos – the ones in this story were iPhone on-the-spot pix.)