Mayor of Chula Vista; California

Mary Salas is a California politician from Chula Vista, California. She is a

former California Assembly member who represented the 79th Assembly District from 2006 to 2010. She ran for the California State Senate in 2010 but lost. In 2012 she was elected to the Chula Vista City Council, a position she previously held from 1996 to 2004. She was elected Mayor of the city of Chula Vista in 2014.

Salas was elected to the California State Assembly in 2006, defeating Jean Roesch. She represented the 79th district which includes the communities of National City, Coronado, Imperial Beach and parts of Chula Vista and San Diego. Salas was appointed Chair of the Committee on Veterans Affairs in 2007. She also served on the following standing committees: Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy; Water, Parks and Wildlife; and the Committee on Health. She was re-elected in 2008. In 2010 she campaigned for California State Senate but lost narrowly to Juan Vargas.

The Sacramento Bee reported in 2011 that Salas had multiple accidents in her state-issued vehicle during her time in the Assembly, resulting in four claims costing taxpayers nearly $28,000.

Salas was born in 1948 in Chula Vista. She married Sal Salas in 1967 at the age of 19 and became a stay-at-home mom. After 17 years she and her husband divorced, though they remained close. At the age of 37, Salas enrolled in San Diego State on her way to earning a bachelor degree in social work. In college, she became involved with MANA de San Diego, a women's organization that mentors young Latinas, which led her into city politics.

In 2005, on what would have been their 38th wedding anniversary, Mary and Sal married each other for the second time.They have two daughters and three grandchildren.