Democratic Congressional candidate Norman Solomon formally announced his candidacy and launched his campaign on Monday with appearances in four counties of the reorganized 2nd District, which stretches from the Golden Gate to the Oregon border. The day began in the early morning outside Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station, where he chatted with patrons and passersby about his campaign and some central issues like looming United States Postal Service cutbacks. He made a brief appearance across the street at the Point Reyes post office before stopping at mail centers in Petaluma and Ukiah to voice his opposition against potential workforce reductions and service cuts. “This is happening because there’s a broader agenda,” he said. “We’re gonna slash funding and reduce service and then say it’s crappy service. It’s sort of self-perpetuating budget [slashes].” Solomon maintains that transparent accounting practices and cuts to the defense budget, which he spoke about at length during his afternoon speech in front of the federal building in Eureka, could remedy this issue and others, like poorly funded education and healthcare programs.