Recently, Reeves has organized community conversations on police brutality towards blacks and other social justice issues. Reeves supports these causes in more concrete ways as well.

“Every day I can, I stop by Boomerangs. It provides a mental break,” Reeves said, peering into the well-lit Central Square thrift store that is owned and operated by the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.

In addition to minority activism, Reeves spent much of his last term working on commercial viability and quality of life issues in Cambridge. He was appointed to head a commission this past year to help revitalize Central Square, and held monthly meetings with residents and other stakeholders.

While getting over 100 citizens, real estate owners, and store managers to cooperate might have been difficult, one participant praised Reeves for his leadership. Alan Zimwicke, who runs a real estate development business focusing on affordable housing, called the latest planning efforts “ingenious.”

“Ken looked at ... what other cities have thought about doing and kept the interest of over 100 people while going about things in unique ways,” Zimwicke said. “He is tenacious in the way he cares and he really sticks with it.”

Recently, Reeves has also focused on education, establishing a “baby university” to help educate parents, championing the renovation of Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, and supporting the construction of a new main library branch that has won awards for elegant architecture.

On the whole, Reeves says his goal is to improve the quality of life for residents. While many Harvard graduates spread out around the world, Reeves has built a foundation of support within blocks of his undergraduate dorm.

“I have black mothers and white mothers. This is the white mother, Janet Daly,” Reeves remarks, holding up a photo of an elderly woman. “She and her husband Joe have been with me from the beginning ... They called themselves the ‘Daly Double.”’

And it’s not just a select few Cantabrigians who Reeves connects with, associates say.

“If you ever see him walking in Central Square, he’s a total magnet,” Greenidge remarked. “People are always coming up to him. He knows how to relate to people.”