In training for a passionate fight

In running for office, Kip Diggs is volunteering to lead the 2nd Barnstable district into the post-pandemic unknown.

"My priority is making sure that everyone is taken care of – safety first," said the 54-year-old construction inspector and former world welterweight boxing champion. "Make sure everyone is being fed and has enough PPE.

"First responders – police and fire – they know they may not come home tonight," Diggs said. "But our kids and teachers, our doctors, dentists, nurses: they’re supposed to be saving lives – not rolling the dice. We have to protect them because life has changed. We have to protect and love each other."

Diggs grew up in Osterville, went to elementary school there and grew to be captain of the Barnstable High School Hockey Team.

I’ve been a Cape kid,” he said. “I went through cancer, lost a son, lost a brother – I’ve been through a lot. What doesn’t change is that I still love and care for my area. I’m the person that will fight and make sure that things will be taken care of."

Asked whether he endorses Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency business shutdown, Diggs said simply, “It’s worked. Scientists are making the best judgments.”

With Demetrius Atsalis as his campaign manager, Diggs has also won the support of Ernie Corrigan, president of Corrigan Communications in Boston, who said the two of them belong to a club no one else wants to join: fathers who have lost a teen-age son.

"Ernie is basically helping me out," Diggs said. "I trust him – he’s like a brother. I’ve known the man for five days, and he’s like a brother."

"I’ve taken lots of shots in life," Diggs continued. "We still have to get up, wipe ourselves off and keep going. I have an 89-year-old mother that I’m trying to protect. Friends on the Cape are barely making it, and they have good jobs but can’t afford a house. Vacations have become ‘stay-cations.’ That's what fuels me."

In a way, he said, his family has programmed him to be "a servant leader."

“My grandfather served in World War II; my father did three tours in Vietnam, two uncles were Tuskegee airman. They did race relations for the Army. It’s in my blood.

“I want to be the first African American to go to Beacon Hill,” he said. "My community has given to me. I need to give back to them. This isn't a job – it's personal. I’m tired of being the underdog. I want everyone to be successful. We need to teach our children to be winners. Kids are our future. We need to hear them, we need to listen to them.

"Kids don’t have hatred, that’s taught," Diggs said. "We have to show love, compassion, empathy and integrity. Those are the things that really I stand by.

"This is new to me, and that’s OK. I'm an athlete. I'm already training (as a lawmaker). I'm going to be fair to everyone."