By Daily Press staff
City Councilman Herb Katz is tying the knot with his sweetheart and Valentine today.
Katz announced that he is marrying Brenda Lehmann, after an eight-month long courtship. Lehmann, the general manager of W.I. Simonson Mercedes in Santa Monica, met Katz during business dealings with his architectural firm and the car dealership. The two had strictly a business relationship for quite a while.
After Lehmann’s husband died in 2001, Katz offered his support to her because he was recently a widower as well. Katz’s wife, Ilona Joe Katz, who was a well-known community member, died on April 26, 2000.
“I took her out to a drink to say, ‘I know how you feel,’” Katz said.
He then invited her to the fireworks show at Santa Monica Community College.
“And we just hit it off and we’ve been dating ever since,” he said.
After several months, Katz took Lehmann to dinner at a restaurant called Musso and Franks in Hollywood. Katz bought a silver fortune cookie and put his own fortune in that said, “Will you marry me?”
Katz, a local architect, has lived in Santa Monica for 40 years and Lehmann has lived here just over two years.
“I am probably the luckiest man in alive to have a wonderful wife like Brenda,” he said. “And we are going to have a lot of fun and be very happy.”
The marriage ceremony will be on home at Pearl Street tonight. The reception will be held on Saturday at Shutters on the Beach Hotel.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2003. Read the original PDF.