I think if you have candidates who will not participate, I think that removes transparency and accountability. There are too many people right now who are not willing to have a conversation with people they may not agree with (and) I think the people who suffer most are the voters.”

Rep. Michelle McGaw

Michelle McGaw knows very little about her opponent for the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 71 seat (Tiverton, Little Compton and Portsmouth).. So far, he is somewhat of a mystery.

Kobe James Taylor, 23, of 760 Anthony Road in Portsmouth, is Democrat McGaw's only challenger for the seat she first won two years ago. Taylor is a registered Republican running as an Independent, but little is known about him apart from a recommendation that he be elected to the seat posted on the Rhode Island State Right to Life Committee's website. He has no online presence that could be found, and he did not respond to repeated telephone calls from the Sakonnet Times in preparation for this article. 

"I don't know very much about him," said McGaw. "I'm not sure where he stands on any issues or if the has any concerns over anything I've done over the past few years. So I don't know."

The lack of discourse between opponents is nothing new this year, in a season that has seen the Little Compton Republicans decline to participate in a public forum for school committee and town council candidates, and Republicans in Portsmouth decline a similar invitation to a League of Women Voters public forum in Portsmouth  Thursday evening.

McGaw said she hasn't changed anything in her campaign despite her opponent's lack of visibility, as "I think it's really important that regardless of whether I have a challenging opponent, that I'm out there every day."

Still, she finds the silence and general lack of discourse in this year's election season troubling.

"I think the word I would use is 'disappointed,'" she said. "I think if you have candidates who will not participate, I think that removes transparency and accountability. There are too many people right now who are not willing to have a conversation with people they may not agree with (and) I think the people who suffer most are the voters."

That's a shame, she said, as there are many pressing issues across the state and within her district that need discussion.

Conversations with her constituents have run the gamut, from concerns about the economy and inflation, to the impact of the Mayflower Wind offshore wind farm proposal, to statewide environmental policy, recycling, affordable housing and insurance and health care costs.

McGaw said she is cautiously optimistic about the race, and believes she's a good voice. During the last campaign, "there was a lot of discussion about leadership in the General Assembly. People were adamant that I stay independent and work for them. I think a lot of those concerns have gone away."

"I've tried to prove myself that I speak for the people of the district."

Note: Michelle McGaw is the wife of Jim McGaw, editor of The Portsmouth Times, The Sakonnet Times’ sister publication. Jim McGaw had no hand in the writing or editing of this story.