Former mayor Susan Thompson in town to see her name adorn home of old foes

Two decades ago, former Winnipeg mayorSusan Thompson wrestled power away from the administration building at city hall and concentrated it in the hands of politicians.

Soon, that building will bear her name.

The first woman to serve as Winnipeg's mayor is returning to the city for the rechristening of the administration building as theSusan A. Thompson Building.

Council voted unanimously in November in favour of the name change to honour Thompson, who served two terms as mayor from 1992 to 1998.

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"I was honoured.I was overwhelmed.Iwas emotional. I was blessed. I had every emotion you could imagine because in a million years I never thought something like this would happen," Thompson said Monday over the phone from Vancouver.

She said she sees no irony in her name adorning the administration building, which used to house the public servants she battled in her quest to replace the old board of commissioners a group of unelected senior officials with a "strong-mayor" model that benefitedher successors, Glen Murray, Sam Katz and Brian Bowman.

"As time goes on, various models of government are put in place," she said, shrugging off the notion triumphalism played any role in the name change.

Council speaker DeviSharma (Old Kildonan) spearheaded the renaming, which is slated for 10a.m. on Thursday. Thompson said she hopes the name change will serve as a symbol of recognition of women's leadership in politics.

The former mayor, who isbringing her family to the city to witness the renaming, is still involved in one public project in Winnipeg: she works as a fundraising consultant for the Winnipeg Art Gallery's Inuit Art Centre project.