Mary Sally Matiella

Mary Sally Matiella (born June 21, 1951) is an American government official and political candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) during the Obama Administration. After several decades of federal civil service, Matiella served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army, holding office from February 16, 2010, until February 27, 2014, when she resigned and was succeeded by Robert M. Speer.

In 2018, Matiella ran as a Democrat for the United States House of Representatives from Arizona's 2nd congressional district. She placed third in the primary election, behind former U.S. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick and former state representative Matt Heinz.

Early life and education

Mary Sally Matiella (née Garza), born in Three Rivers, Texas, grew up as the child of migrant farmworkers.

Career After college, worked as a management analyst for the University of Texas at Austin and as an auditor for the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

Federal Civil Service In 1980, Matiella began a career as a civilian employee of the United States Armed Forces. She served as a budget analyst at Ramstein Air Base from 1980 to 1983; as a systems accountant for the United States Air Force Accounting Service, based in Denver from 1983 to 1986; and as a senior systems accountant at Fort Clayton from 1986 to 1989. She then returned to Denver, working at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) as a systems accountant 1989–1992; a staff accountant 1992–1994; and then as Director of the CFO Implementation Office 1994–1995. From 1995 to 1998, she was Director of Accounting at the DFAS office in San Bernardino, California.

Matiella was a staff accountant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), a position she held until 2001. She was working in the Pentagon at the time of the September 11 attacks. After Senate confirmation, she was sworn into office by United States Under Secretary of the Army Joseph W. Westphal on February 16, 2010. During her service, she visited soldiers in Iraq. She retired in 2014.

Political Office In 2017, Matiella announced she would challenge Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally for her seat in the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona's 2nd congressional district. She placed third in the Democratic primary election, and former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick was eventually elected.