Representative Michelle McGaw

Member, House State Government and Elections Committee

Member, House Veterans' Affairs Committee

Representative Michelle McGaw (D) was elected on Nov. 3, 2020, to represent the people of District 71 in Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton. She is a member of the House State Government and Elections Committee and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and also serves on the House Task Force for the COVID-19 Vaccine.

In her first year in the House, Representative McGaw introduced numerous bills, including one to require the state’s Energy Facility Siting Board to deny applications for power plants that would adversely affect Rhode Island’s ability to meet its carbon-emissions-reduction goals. Another of her bills would allow temporary vehicle registrations to last 30 days instead of 20 for dealer sales or just two for private sales, to account for long waits for Division of Motor Vehicles appointments.

She is a 1984 graduate of St. Paul Catholic High School and graduated from University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in 1989. She is a consultant pharmacist serving the long-term care community.

Representative McGaw is a member of the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee, and served on the Portsmouth Waste and Recycling Committee and the 2020 Portsmouth Charter Review Committee. She is a former board member for the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus. She was involved in youth recreation and local Little League baseball for many years and continues to volunteer with the Portsmouth Little League Challenger Division.​

A resident of Portsmouth for more than 30 years, Representative McGaw and her husband James are the parents of two adult sons, Jake and Max.​