In 1966, Stone became Miami City Attorney and was elected to the Florida Senate in 1967, representing Dade County.[5] In 1970, he was elected Secretary of State of Florida.[5] He resigned in July 1974, before his term ended, to focus on his campaign for the U.S. Senate.[6]
With a reputation for changing his mind and with the AFL–CIO actively campaigning against him, Stone was deemed vulnerable in his reelection bid.[4] 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.[4] 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.
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.[5][9][14][15][16] Stone was once a paid lobbyist for the conservative Guatemalan government of Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia. This made Democrats argue that he was ill-suited to be President Reagan's appointee to be Ambassador at Large for Central America, a role that required negotiation with the leftist government of El Salvador and other administrations.[17] He resigned effective March 1, 1984, allegedly after experiencing personality conflicts with Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Langhorne A. Motley.[18][19][20] Stone continued working with Capital Bank of Washington, D.C. and, in 1989, was named chief operating officer.[21] On November 9, 1991, he was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to be U.S. Ambassador to Denmark.[21] The nomination was successful and Stone served from November 21, 1991, to October 14, 1993.[22]
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.[23] 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.[23] By mid-1998, Dart Group was sold to Richfood.[24]
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.[5] He died on July 28, 2019, in Rockville, Maryland, from complications of pneumonia and other illnesses.[25][2] At the time of his death, he resided in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Maryland.[2]
