I don't know if the Governor was a pub or a dim back then . . . Robert Graham, thirty-eighth governor of Florida, (D), 1979 to 1987.
Still, 436 wasn't a ghost highway. It was as crowded and busy as it is now.
I didn't think the FL Governor back then. As for the supposed deadlands of 436, I remember you mention MORE independant businesses in 1980's Orlando with Reagan.