To the editors:

I was extremely dismayed to see that The Crimson did not endorse incumbent Kenneth E. Reeves ’72 in this year’s Cambridge City Council election (Editorial, “Cambridge’s Candidates,” Nov. 5).

Reeves, who has already served two terms as Mayor of Cambridge, has been one of the most progressive voices in local politics for nearly two decades. He has been a passionate advocate for affordable housing, public education and racial and economic justice in an increasingly fractious and gentrified Cambridge. As a Harvard alumnus and honors graduate in History and Literature, Ken Reeves has also been an unstinting supporter of PBHA, Kuumba, the Afro-American Studies Department, and other revered institutions on this campus.

The Crimson’s objection to Reeves, who was re-elected on Tuesday, seems to derive from his public criticisms of Harvard. This is sadly consistent with the widespread capitulation to mainstream politics so evident at Harvard this fall. That Reeves has chosen to voice principled objections to his alma mater on issues like the living wage, community relations and questionable donor sources suggests that he has used his political power to expose some of Harvard’s more egregious flaws. That The Crimson chose to call for his dismissal because of this confirms that it is as out of touch with the people of Cambridge as the institution whose name it uses to give it legitimacy.

Timothy Patrick McCarthy

Cambridge, Mass.

Nov. 5, 2001

The writer is a lecturer in History and Literature.