Source:

Kenneth E. Reeves (Ken) is currently serving his ninth term as a member of the Cambridge City Council, and his third term as Mayor of the City of Cambridge. Ken previously served consecutive terms as Mayor in 1992-1993 and 1994-1995, becoming both the first African American and the first openly gay person to hold the office in Cambridge, and the first openly gay African American Mayor in the nation.

Ken's years of service to the City of Cambridge have been characterized by their energy and innovation.  During his previous four years as Mayor, Ken founded and launched initiated a number of initiatives that have literally helped to transform the physical, social, and cultural landscape of the city:

• The Commission on Cambridge as a Destination resulted in the City's establishment of its first Office of Tourism, and a greater focus on tourism as a viable economic engine for this world-class city rich in historic, cultural, artistic and academic resources. 
  
• The Commission for the Enhancement of Central Square, Now successfully advocated for millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements to Central Square, which served as a catalyst for reinventing this formerly blighted pass-through as a vibrant social destination in its own right, further adding to Cambridge's reputation as the "City of Squares."
  
• In his role as Chairperson of the Cambridge School Committee during his previous tenure as Mayor, Ken launched the Task Force on the Potential of Students and the Commission on the High School of the 21st Century.

His efforts resulted in numerous recommendations for reform, including leading the Cambridge School Committee to mandate that all eighth graders study algebra, which studies have shown will double the chances that chance a student will apply to a four-year college at the end of high school. 

• With the help of active and resourceful members of the Cambridge community, Ken founded a number of cultural and social initiatives, including the Cambridge Community Chorus, the Cambridge Caribbean Carnival, and the World's Fair in Central Square.   These initiatives not only enrich the cultural fabric of the city, but serve as attractions for people around the region. 

More broadly, Ken's work as an elected official has focused on building consensus for action among various interests, both in Cambridge and beyond the city's borders, with a focus on preserving housing affordability in the City, stimulating economic development, encouraging citizen empowerment and encouraging diversity amongst the city's decision makers.  Priorities for Ken's current term reflect a continuing commitment to these issues, and include:

• Spearheading the citywide effort to attract the business and investment that has cemented Cambridge's status as one of the most vibrant business, cultural and social destinations in the state;
  
• Improving the quality of education, opportunity and access in all of Cambridge's public schools and educational support services;
  
• Working with city officials, activists, developers and others to preserve and augment the stock of affordable housing in the city; and
  
• Opening the city and its government to the residents of the City as never before, and increasing opportunities for citizen participation and leadership in planning for Cambridge's future.

As an elected official, Ken has further used the stature of his office to raise the profile of and lend support to issues which impact the health, educational attainment, and general quality of life for individuals and families not only in Cambridge, but everywhere.  Ken has helped to found or served in a leadership capacity with a number of local, statewide and national organizations and initiatives focusing on such issues, including:

• Black AIDS Institute (Los Angeles, CA)
• Cambridge Branch NAACP
• Cambridge Community Arts Center
• Cambridge Community Chorus
• Cambridge Democratic City Committee
• Cambridge Men of Color Health Task Force
• Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center
• Center for Community Change (Washington, DC)
• Concilio Hispano
• Massachusetts Halfway Houses, Inc.
• National Black College Alliance
• National Black Justice Coalition (New York, NY)
• National Stonewall Democrats
• Project Step
• Roxbury Children's Services
• W.E.B. Dubois Academy

Ken is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School.   As an attorney, Ken has served as the Managing Attorney of the General Motors/United Auto Workers legal plan and as an attorney specializing in utility, insurance and banking regulations for the National Consumer Law Center in Boston.  Ken has also been in private practice as a principal in the law firm Singleton, Reeves, Bowzer and Huggins. 

In addition to serving as Mayor, Ken also served as Vice Mayor of the City from 1990-1991. In 1997-1998 Ken held a Community Fellowship in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and previously received the Michael Clark Rockefeller Fellowship from Harvard and a Hanley Fellowship to study social welfare policy in Stockholm, Sweden.