Tolli's Italian is always my earliest sweet pepper. Bonus is that they have outstanding, sweet, almost apple-like flavor, and the plants are also compact. Honorable mention for Frank's and Churvena Crushka, as those are also early, compact, and have great flavor. (all three of these are great for 4-5 gal containers due to the size which will allow you to get a good early start in your climate) Carmen F1 is another very nice red elongated sweet, but a week or two later (at least) than the other three and plants are taller, you will need a small cage or stake. Peppers are also a bit larger.
For bells, Mavras F1 (a hybrid) is a favorite of mine. Green -> purple -> red when ripe, great flavor and production. Does well for me for both spring crop (when it is hot) and also fall crop (when it tends to be cold nights and short daylength). I do not know how it would do for you in your climate, but it's done better than most for me for the last couple of years. About the only bell I bother with these days. I don't know if I'd call it early/short season, probably mid, but it does seem to handle a wide variety of growing conditions. Mavras isn't a huge plant, never grown it in a container, but I'm pretty sure a 5 gal pot would suffice if you wanted to get an early start with it.
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