Richard Stone (politician)

Early life and career

Stone was born in New York City, the son of Lily (Abbey) and Alfred Stone, who was born in Belgium. His family was Jewish. He received a LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1954, returned to Florida, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1955, and began practicing law in Miami.

In 1966, Stone became Miami City Attorney and was elected to the Florida Senate in 1967, representing Dade County. In 1970, he was elected Secretary of State of Florida. He resigned in July 1974, before his term ended, to focus on his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senate

In 1974, Stone ran in an 11-candidate Democratic primary election. Congressman Bill Gunter finished first but Stone won a close subsequent runoff, 51% to 49%. On the Republican side, incumbent Senator Edward Gurney chose not to run for re-election after being indicted for allegedly taking bribes in return for his influence with the Federal Housing Administration. Millionaire Eckerd drug store chain owner, Jack Eckerd, defeated Paula Hawkins for the Republican nomination. In the general election, Stone narrowly defeated Eckerd in a race that saw the American Party candidate, John Grady, claim nearly 16% of the vote. Stone was the second Jewish U.S. Senator from Florida (after David Levy Yulee) and the first since the U.S. Civil War. Outgoing Senator Gurney resigned on December 31, 1974, and Stone was officially appointed senator by Governor Reubin Askew on January 1, 1975, two days before his term was scheduled to begin.

During Stone's term in the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and was a strong advocate for the Panama Canal Torrijos–Carter Treaties.{{cite news |access-date=2007-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050113072645/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923593,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 13, 2005

At the onset of his term, Stone was one of three Jewish members of the U.S. Senate along with Jacob Javits and Abraham Ribicoff.{{cite news |access-date=2007-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523225224/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917173-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 23, 2011

Reelection bid

With a reputation for changing his mind and with the AFL-CIO actively campaigning against him, Stone was deemed vulnerable in his reelection bid. Six Democrats entered the race for Stone's seat including his 1974 runoff opponent Bill Gunter who was Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner in 1980. As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination in 1980. Gunter was defeated by Paula Hawkins in the general election. Stone resigned three days early on December 31, 1980.

Post-senate

Senator Stone was included on President-elect Ronald Reagan's transition team the day after the 1980 elections.{{cite web |access-date=2007-02-07 |access-date=2007-02-18 |access-date=2007-02-18

On April 28, 1983, President Reagan announced Stone's appointment as Ambassador at Large and Special Envoy to Central America. Despite concerns over his recent ties with the oppressive right-wing Guatemalan government and how he would be perceived by the leftist FMLN of El Salvador, Stone was confirmed and commenced the position on May 26.{{cite news |author-link=Hedrick Smith |access-date=2007-02-09 |author-link=Hedrick Smith |access-date=2007-02-09 |access-date=2007-02-09 |access-date=2007-02-09 |author-link=Lou Cannon |access-date=2007-02-09

On December 28, 1995, Stone was appointed voting trustee for the discount drug store business, Dart Drug, which was owned by Herbert Haft and embroiled in a widely publicized family dispute. On September 24, 1997, Haft and Stone voted to appoint Stone as acting chief executive officer and, in February 1998, Stone was named chief executive officer. By mid-1998, Dart Group was sold to Richfood.{{cite web |access-date=2007-02-26

Personal life and death

Stone married the former Marlene Lois Singer on June 30, 1957 and they had three children and five grandchildren. Marlene Stone died on August 29, 2008. He died on July 28, 2019, in Rockville, Maryland, from complications of pneumonia and other illnesses. At the time of his death, he resided in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Maryland.

References

References

1. (1965). "Florida from Indian Trail to Space Age: A History".
2. "Distinguished Alumni". [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]].
3. Abramowitz, Alan I.. (1992). "Senate Elections". [[University of Michigan]] Press.
4. (1983-04-28). "Nomination of Richard B. Stone To Be Ambassador at Large, Serving as Special Representative of the President to Central America". [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] speech archive.
5. Florida, State Library and Archives of. "Resigning Secretary of State Dick Stone kissing his successor Mrs. Dorothy Glisson after she was sworn in - Tallahassee, Florida".
6. "Welcome {{!}} Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU".
7. "Richard Stone, Florida's first Jewish senator since Civil War, dies at 90".
8. [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/3674.htm Ambassadors at Large from 1949 to 2005] at [[United States Department of State]]. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
9. (29 April 1983). "REAGAN APPOINTS FLORIDA DEMOCRAT AS HIS LATIN ENVOY". New York Times.
10. Nomination of Richard B. Stone To Be United States Ambassador to Denmark. John Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. [[Santa Barbara, California. (December 2025)
11. [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10497.htm Denmark] at [[United States Department of State]]. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
12. "Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date May 1, 1998". secdatabase.com.
13. Dolsten, Josefin. (July 30, 2019). "Richard Stone, Florida's first Jewish Senator since Civil War, dies at 90". [[The Jerusalem Post]].
14. Langer, Emily. (July 31, 2019). "Richard Stone, senator from Florida and envoy to Central America, dies at 90". [[The Washington Post]].