Businesses 'Meet the Mayor' Over Dinner, Drinks and Dashboards

The sun-lit showroom of Foothill Ranch Mercedes-Benz was packed with both cars and people Wednesday night, when members of the Lake Forest business community and City Hall officials gathered to hear a speech from Mayor Peter Herzog on the state of the city.

The Meet the Mayor event, organized and co-sponsored by the Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce and the city of Lake Forest, brought out business representatives and four out of five of the members of the City Council.

In his speech, Herzog recited recent business success stories in Lake Forest, from the to the addition of 450 employees at Oakley's Foothill Ranch headquarters.

"For the next 10 years or so, this area of Orange County, and Lake Forest, is a real focal point for the increase in jobs coming to Orange County," Herzog said. "And these are good, solid, high-paying jobs. So we also have to look forward to the fact that this is going to be a real business center of all of Orange County."

Herzog highlighted the , which found that the vast majority of local residents and businesses were satisfied with the city. He mentioned that the council was closer than ever to completing the long-held goals of , closing the Alton Parkway gap and .

"I liked it," chamber member Shirley Wu said of Herzog's talk. "It's a good report card."

Peppino's catered the event, which featured a cash bar, prize raffle and booths advertising chamber sponsors. City staffers including City Manager Robert Dunek, Assistant City Manager David Belmer and Community Services Director Gary Magill were on hand, as was Chamber of Commerce President-Elect David Carter.

"One of the things we try to do is keep the community updated," Herzog said after his speech. "To let people know how we're doing—good, bad or otherwise."