State Rep. Patricia Serpa, D-West Warwick, has served in the House since 2006, most prominently as the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight. From that post, she has looked into serious failures in the administration of state government, including the UHIP computer program, the failures of a company called MTM to transport patients, and most recently, the horrifying death of a child under the oversight of the state Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Before becoming a state representative she served six years on the West Warwick School Committee and is a former public school teacher and administrator.