STEVE SEBELIUS: Airport name? How about the people’s choice?

Welcome to Harry Mason Reid International Airport: Gateway to Fabulous Las Vegas.

If the Clark County Commission has its way, that greeting may not be too far off. Commissioner Tick Segerblom has resumed his crusade to erase the name of the late Nevada U.S. Sen. Pat McCarran from the facility that — in pre-COVID times — welcomed more than 40 million people to town.

There’s ample reason to dislike McCarran. As UNLV history professor Michael Green noted in 2017, McCarran frequently made anti-Semitic comments, blocked bills that would have allowed for greater immigration from Europe in the wake of World War II and was an unrepentant communist witch hunter.

But there were also good reasons to honor McCarran by putting his name on the airport: As a senator, he co-authored the bill that created the forerunner agency of today’s Federal Aviation Administration. And he stopped a federal gambling taxation bill that if passed would have crippled Las Vegas as a gambling capital. The city simply wouldn’t exist without him.

But these are unforgiving times.

Many of the people who reflexively hate Reid — and there are many — say he’s unworthy of the honor and that he’s also said unwholesome things in the past. They resent his 2012 allegations that presidential candidate Mitt Romney never paid his taxes and his nonchalant answer when confronted about the untrue charge: “Romney didn’t win, did he?”

But just like McCarran, Reid has done much to deserve a naming honor. He’s the highest-ranking Nevadan ever elected to federal office. He’s one of the key people responsible for repeatedly thwarting the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, which helped protect Nevada’s tourism industry.

And Reid does not get enough credit (or blame) for preventing amendments to a federal mining law that prevented greater federal taxation of that important Nevada industry. (The fact that Reid is most hated in the rural parts of the state that would collapse without mining is one of Nevada’s most enduring ironies.)

But just because Reid has done enough to be eligible for the honor of having a public facility named for him doesn’t necessarily mean it should be so.

There are other Nevadans, even more famous and recognizable than Reid, who also may be worthwhile candidates for an airport name.

How about Wayne Newton International Airport? Mr. Las Vegas is known globally, and his roots in the town are wide and deep. Or Jerry Tarkanian International Airport? Tark’s legacy is undeniable, if controversial. (And think of the shark motifs!) What about Frank Sinatra International Airport? The Rat Pack singer has Las Vegas ties, and his “Come Fly With Me” could be a regular feature on the public address system.

How about naming the airport for somebody with Las Vegas ties and a close connection with aviation, such as Howard Hughes International Airport? Or, giving a nod to the city’s mobbed-up past, an inside joke to greet visitors, as in Bugsy Siegel International Airport? Surely, a partnership with the inestimable Mob Museum could illustrate the slain mobster’s role in Las Vegas’s history in a display in the main terminal. Or maybe recognize a remarkable Nevadan, one who served his nation and state with honor and passion, as in Mike O’Callaghan International Airport? (Although surely O’Callaghan, were he alive today, would demur and suggest it go instead to Reid, his protégé.)

Maybe recognize history? Rafael Rivera International Airport could honor the Spanish explorer who’s credited with first discovering the spot that eventually became Las Vegas. Or go back even further and honor the indigenous peoples who were here before anyone else: Paiute International Airport.

The possibilities are limitless if one first accepts that it’s a good idea to name facilities after people. Once you accept that premise, the only question is: Who is most worthy of the honor?

But what about what the people want? Any name change approved by the County Commission won’t be laid before the voters at the ballot box, but there’s a good indication of what would happen if it were. Ever since I’ve been writing about this subject, there’s been one, consistent, repeated suggestion. I’ve seen it on Twitter and emails, heard it in voicemails and in conversations. Others have, too. The overwhelming consensus of the public is clear, if the commission cares to hear it:

Welcome to Las Vegas International Airport. And enjoy your stay.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.