By TINA RYNBERG and JEFF BENESCH

As we all look forward to the end of this very forgettable and tragic year in the Oval Office, filled with innumerable high crimes and misdemeanors, at least we have the knowledge and comfort that this corrupt administration’s self-serving conduct, collusion and unlawful abuse of executive power will be openly explored and investigated in the next few weeks during the Congressional impeachment hearings.

We must all look forward to a 2020 election year that will shine light on truth, renewed respect for the rule of law, and a return to normalcy for our democracy and its standing in the international arena. We hope that new leadership will bring social and economic justice for all citizens and those that aspire to citizenship. Most importantly, we hope to unite our nation behind a leader that will recognize not only our renewed potential for greatness but also the urgency to squash those forces that, for greed and self-aggrandizement, seek to ruin our nation and our planet for our children and generations to come.

We will be highlighting that hope and optimism with our annual holiday celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 4, with friends, food, charity and our returning favorite entertainer, Jon “Bowzer” Bauman. While Jon is best known for his decadeslong association with the oldies group Sha Na Na, he is also a great advocate for elder issues, Social Security, Medicare and candidates and causes that protect the rights and welfare of our senior citizens. He is currently president of Social Security Works PAC, a national organization working to elect candidates who support protecting and expanding Social Security benefits.

As tradition holds, we welcome all members and guests to enjoy our holiday feast, with turkey, ham, and all the trimmings supplied by the club. Members and guests are encouraged to bring shared serving portions of appetizers, side dishes, salads, and desserts to augment the club’s meat carvings, veggie entrees and beverages. We’ll start our festivities at 6 p.m., so come prepared to share time with friends and family and enjoy our wonderful potluck dinner. We ask each member and guest to contribute $10 (suggested donation) at the door to offset the costs of our wonderful feast.

We’ll be meeting at the La Mesa Community Center, 4975 Memorial Drive. Because of the overflow crowds for this annual event, we ask willing and able members to park by the Little League field and take the short walk up the stairs to the community center. Let’s leave the adjacent parking lot for those who need to be in close proximity to the meeting room.

As is past years, we also ask each member and guest to contribute to our annual holiday charities. Again this year, we are supporting the efforts of the Food Bank at Santa Sophia Church to feed needy families in the Casa de Oro area. Please bring canned and nonperishable foods that can help provide for the several hundred local families in need during the holiday season. They also like to give out “street-ready” foods such as high protein bars, fruit and nut snacks, and pop tarts. We also support the efforts of La Mesa United Methodist Church, which offers the city’s homeless citizens hot showers and other necessities. We ask that you bring some new, unused toiletries and/or gently used clothing for those who don’t take these items for granted. Shoes and new socks are particularly appreciated.

Lastly, we ask each member, and those who have not yet joined or renewed, to please pay our modest 2020 dues at our December meeting. It is only $35 for the whole year, and we still offer silver level memberships at $50, and gold level at $65 for those that can give a little more. Please bring cash or checks for our membership sign-ups and renewals.

Our January meeting will take place on Jan. 8, 2020, because the New Year’s holiday falls on Wednesday. Our January program will feature a forum for those Democrats seeking to replace Congress member Susan Davis in the 53rd Congressional District.

— Tina Rynberg is president and Jeff Benesch is vice president of programming for the La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club.