Hi Michelle,
I'm in Seattle, so not very far from you. I've grown dwarves last year and this. Last year I started them with the other tomatoes and they did just fine. This year I did as you propose and started them with the peppers. They got the benefit of an early start, without the problem of getting unwieldy.
As for our short season, I would like to grow early tomatoes, but the ones we like best are later varieties.
. No matter, I grow them anyway and hope for the best. This year I'm growing dwarf Mr. Snow - one of the latest. It got a slow start (as did everything this year
) but grew into a beautiful plant with a good crop of tomatoes. I expect the first two to be ripe in the next couple of days! The only issue I've had with dwarves is that a couple of fruits have become overripe because I missed seeing them in the dense foliage!