I started out covering city government in three of the fastest growing towns in Texas, just north of Austin, the US. It lasted three years and was truly an education in American democracy.

But there was a time in my life when I rejoiced that I would never again have to read city council agendas; would never need to sit through five-hour council meetings; would never again have to care about the planning and zoning commission or municipal credit ratings.

I realised that on my first day accompanying US troops on patrol north of Baghdad. We were trying to visit the mayor, actually, but a roadside bomb stopped us short. As we sweated in our Humvees while waiting for the bomb squad, I had two thoughts. One: this would never happen in central Texas, and two: this sucks, but at least I no longer have go to city council meetings.

Because the truth is, although I would swear to be a fan of democracy in action, city government is truly the front line of democracy. And like the actual front line, it is gruelling – and mostly very boring.

This devotion to municipal minutiae may be why Toronto’s outsize crack-smoking mayor remains popular despite, well, his admission that he smoked crack cocaine. Mayor Rob Ford is a dedicated public servant – or so says his Twitter feed – and makes a point of visiting every constituent who complains about a leaky sewer or a pothole.

This, said Virgil James of the city of Johannesburg, is the day-to-day reality of running a city. It’s often less about grand ideas than it is about sewers and sidewalks.

“It becomes at the end of the day, somewhat mundane, in that you have to please rate payers. They are critical because they keep the city running. And all the issues that have been discussed here become issues that are basic service delivery issues,” said James.

I found myself thinking about this as I girded myself for an annual summit of big city mayors in Johannesburg.

It was a lot fancier than a city council meeting in my old stomping grounds of Leander, Texas. But for some reason, it made me feel slightly… homesick. So I called Leander’s former mayor, John Cowman. Needless to say, he was surprised to hear from me after a decade. And he then surprised me by readily offering advice for mayors of cities many times Leander’s size.

“It all boils down to one thing: education. It is the bottom line. You need an educated populace. You need to empower them through education. Be it South Africa, apartheid, whatever, you keep the people uneducated because they were feared if they got smart. Well, if you educate folks, this world will be better, and that would be my message to the mayors,” said Cowman.

Leander, Texas

My first city council meeting in Leander was more than 10 years ago. Leander’s population then was just under 14,000. Since then, it that has more than doubled, making this bedroom community outside Austin one of the fastest-growing cities in the US.

Growth was not easy. Cowman was a divisive mayor, and when council meetings weren’t brutal, they were boring. I didn’t realise at the time that I was witnessing something special.

Or, as Cowman claims, that I was part of it.

“Everything you do learn, really starts at the local level, Anita, and you’re living proof of it. We went through the war together, and see, that’s why I love you for that, it’s like, wow. You reported things in our area that were occurring and so you were part of the team. And that’s the way we all viewed things. And yeah, there were some times I was like, ‘That darn Anita Powell,’ or ‘I’m afraid of her.’ But, look where we ended up,” said Cowman.

Cities will shape Africa’s future

When I moved to Africa in 2007, I thought the rural areas held the secrets to this riveting continent. Rural areas are often hardest hit by the conflict, pestilence and famines that Africa is known for.

But I think I was wrong. New York’s former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, pointed out how fast cities on the continent are growing, and how they will shape Africa’s future.

“In 2011, there were 52 African cities with a population higher than 1m people. By 2016, in only two years, there will be around 65. And that’s a good thing. Cities provide economic and a chance for a better life and they are helping drive the rapid expansion of this continent’s middle class. Cities also drive technological innovation, and they’re the places where bright ideas find capital and talent that they need to become reality,” said Bloomberg.

I’m now aware that way back in Leander, I was already on the front line. Because the story of city government is really that of people’s hopes, fears and homes.

We saw the critical role that African cities like Tunis, Cairo and Tripoli played in overturning entrenched leaders. We’re seeing similar unrest in Luanda, in Kampala, and in Johannesburg, as city-dwellers stand up for their rights and young new residents stream in. I think Africa’s emerging narrative could very well become cities.

But please, please, no more city council meetings. You can’t make me go back to that war zone. – VOA