Mary Salas

Mary Casillas Salas (born March 17, 1948) is an American politician from Chula Vista, California.

Salas was born in 1948 in Chula Vista.

Salas earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work in San Diego State University.

In college, she became involved with MANA de San Diego, a women's organization that mentors young Latinas, which led her into city politics.

Salas served as a member of Chula Vista's Civil Service Commission and Planning Commission.

In 1996, Salas was elected as a member of city council in Chula Vista.

Salas became the first Latina elected to the Chula Vista City Council, and second person of Latino descent on the City Council, after Steve Padilla.

In 2000, as an incumbent, Salas was re-elected as a member of Chula Vista City Council.

As a councilwoman, she chaired the University Working Group to establish a higher education center in the region and co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Committee for the "San Diego County Preschool for All."

She gained a reputation as a member who was willing to speak her mind.

Salas led many efforts to support historic preservation.

This included leading an effort for the city to adopt the Mills Act, giving owners of historic houses tax breaks for property repair.

In 2001, Salas was early to call for San Diego Unified Port District Board member David Malcolm to resign over his consulting contract with Duke Energy, which he would ultimately do in early 2002.

In 2002, Salas ran in the open-race for mayor against fellow city councilmember and political ally Steve Padilla, but lost.

Salas had placed a narrow first in the first-round of the election, but had failed to receive a full majority of the vote, thus triggering a runoff.

She lost the runoff.

The election was an open-race, as incumbent Shirley Horton was term-limited.

With both Salas and Padilla running, the election marked the first-time that two incumbent Chula Vista City Council members had run for mayor.

The election was also historic in that all three candidates running (Salas, Padilla, and Petra Barajas) were Hispanic, guaranteeing that the city would elect its first Hispanic mayor.

Salas collected some big-name endorsements.

These included Bob Filner, as well organizations such as the AFSCME, Chula Vista Employees Association, and United Domestic Workers.

She was also endorsed ahead of the primary by the editorial board of the La Presna San Diego newspaper.

The race between Salas and Padilla was regarded as closely contested.

Salas pledged to bring a broader vision to enhancing the city's regional economic importance.

She also noted community concerns, such as illegal evictions and areas of the city being in need of sidewalks.

Salas proposed fast-tracking roadway projects to alleviate traffic congestion stemming from the city's rapid growth.

With much political overlap between Salas and Padilla, the race was seen as being debated on which candidate had the superior experience to lead the city.

Throughout the campaign, Salas and Padilla criticized each other for accepting campaign contributions from different real estate developers.

A tense race from its inception, in the closing days of the general election, things became particularly hostile as both candidates assailed each other's records.

Additionally, Padilla's campaign circulated literature quoting Salas as having used the derisive term "gringos" in a quote to the newspaper El Latino.

Voter turnout was significantly lower in the 2002 election than it had been in the previous two elections.

Salas was term-limited out of the city council in 2004, being barred from serving more than two terms consecutively.

Salas was a member of the South Bay Irrigation District from 2004 through 2006.

She is a former California Assembly member who represented the 79th Assembly District from 2006 to 2010.

Salas joined the Sweetwater Authority Board of Directors in 2006.

Salas was elected to the California State Assembly in 2006, defeating Jean Roesch.

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' father, is one of 9 children of Felix and Urbana Casillas, who once lived in the La Punta adobe, after moving to the United States, through El Paso, from Mexico.