While there was at least one suggestion to change the name of Vegas’ McCarran airport to Siegfried and Roy International, officials instead chose to honour a modern politician over one whose legacy is synonymous with racism.

On Tuesday, a county board voted unanimously to rename busy McCarran International Airport after former US Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, following long-standing calls to rebrand the facility, whose current namesake, former Nevada Sen. Patrick McCarran, served as one of Nevada’s two US senators from 1933 until 1954, but was known for anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic views.

Reid, a Democrat and the former Senate majority leader, retired from the Senate in 2016 after serving 30 years, but boasts a legacy of supporting diverse communities as well as helping make Nevada an early presidential nominating state giving it an outsized voice on the presidential field.

The proposal drew wide public and corporate support, including MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle, who said that with McCarran’s history of racist policies, his name should not be the first one that visitors see when they reach Nevada. “Las Vegas’s main airport should be named for a champion of values important to Nevada, a champion of Nevada: Sen. Harry Reid.”

Some members of the public, however, questioned why officials would rename the airport after a politician, especially one who was polarizing and did not enjoy the same popularity outside his own political party.

“You don’t name a car or new computer with a name that 50 percent of the possible consumers dislike,” said Daniel Braisted of Las Vegas.

Another woman suggested renaming the airport as Siegfried and Roy International Airport, paying tribute to “two immigrants who brought beauty and joy” to Las Vegas visitors. Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, the late German entertainment duo, were known for their magic show featuring white tigers.

Others suggested picking something more neutral such as Las Vegas International Airport and said that amid the pandemic, the county should not spend several million dollars rebranding the airport.

Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who pushed for the name change, said it will be paid for entirely by private contributions, not taxpayer money.

The US Federal Aviation Administration says it must take steps to process a name change before officially recognizing it, which is expected to take a few months.