Chronicle Editor John H. Breneman also disputed the mayor's charges.

"That is unequivocally untrue," Breneman said. "And just as Mayor Reeves and many of his supporters are outraged, I am equally outraged that the mayor could accuse us of anything even remotely related to racism."

The Chronicle maintained its reporting was accurate. "We stand by the story," Breneman said last night. "As far as the charge that we did not obtain the facts, the Chronicle very meticulously tried to get the facts from Ken Reeves' office, and we did not get a response."

'Why Now!'

The half-hour rally of Reeves' 140 supporters directly preceded the 5:30 p.m. council meeting. Three Cantab- rigians--John R. Clifford, Bernard P. Hicks and Cambridge Latino Commission Chair Sylvia J. Saavedra-Keber--organized the event.

"Why now? Why Ken? We support our mayor," read an 18-foot banner unfurled by the supporters.

The open session part of the council meeting took more than three hours, as some 30 Reeves supporters packed into the council chamber to charged the Chronicle and three city councillors with prejudice.

"I think it has to do with racism and the fear of a powerful Black man who's doing the right thing for the city," said Frank Barnes, one of the protesters.

Clifford told the council that Reeves was being questioned "reason one, because he's Black, and reason two is that he's working class." Clifford is the owner of the Green Street Grill, one of several restaurants where the mayor ate on the city's tab, according to the Chronicle report.

"As African-Americans we are aware of the fact that when we take office, the rules change," said Rev. Leroy Attles, a protester and the minister of St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Reeves is a member.

In particular, the pro-Reeves speakers criticized an order proposed by Myers last week. The order asked city manager Robert W. Healy to report on an overpayment of more than $30,000 from the school committee to Reeves over the last three years.

Before being considered, the order was sent to the council's ordinance committee to resolve legal questions.

The public comments focused heavily on Farmelant, who has written for The Chronicle since February 1993 and who covered the council meeting last night for the Cambridge weekly.

Former Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, who spoke in support of Reeves, even issued a threat.

"If I knew who that reporter for the Cambridge Chronicle was," Vellucci said, "I would send him a nice little gift."

"The race issue is that it doesn't matter how hard you work as a person of color," added Ehrl D. LaFontant, a five-year resident and a Haitian immigrant. "The powers that be--the media--will bring you down for no reason whatever."