George Firestone (May 13, 1931 – March 2, 2012) was an American politician and businessman from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, He served as the 20th

Florida Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

from 1979 to 1987.

Early life

Firestone was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1931. He moved to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

with his family as a child in 1936. Firestone served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

in 1952.

Career

After leaving the Army, Firestone returned to Miami, where he established a security firm and cleaning business. Firestone was elected to the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from Dade and Monroe counties in 1966. He was elected to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

in 1972, where he served until 1978. He was elected

Secretary of State of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

in 1978 and was reelected twice, serving until he resigned in 1987.Firestone resigns; Smith takes place
/ref> He used the Secretary of State's position as chief cultural officer to promoted the arts, He also helped update the Florida seal to include the '' sabal palm''. During his tenure, he also traveled a great deal to promote foreign investment in Florida, and was a supporter for Free Trade Zones in the state.

Personal life

Later in life, he was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. On March 2, 2012, he died in a

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

assisted living facility An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is si ...

at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firestone, George 1931 births 2012 deaths Democratic Party Florida state senators Jewish American state legislators in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from New York City Secretaries of State of Florida United States Army soldiers Politicians from Miami Deaths from dementia in Florida Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American Jews