The situation you're describing is exactly what exists in a huge number of municipalities: a city manager, an appointed official who runs the city, while the el

The situation you're describing is exactly what exists in a huge number of municipalities: a city manager, an appointed official who runs the city, while the elected officials (city council members) basically do nothing but pass toothless resolutions. It isn't that great. Representation isn't that great, and why should we expect it to be? How the hell is one person ever going to represent the perspective of a million people? A representative is not some sort of averaging function; they are just a person, and the demands on a process for matching this person to the desires of the electorate are nearly impossible to satisfy. I tend to think that the problem is not the system of representation or the ballot at all; the problem is our individual abdication of responsibility to be involved in the process. We surrendered our control of democracy to managers - officials - to decide for us and make laws for us. Well, guess what happens if you do that? The government fills up with venal people who respond to the interests of powerful elites. The solution is not a change in representation, it is engagement from the public. That means you, as an individual, probably spending 12% of your time actively working on improving your municipality and your country, being informed and engaging in a deliberate process to study and express opinions - in both measured and unmeasured ways. If the public is so removed from the process, does not participate in democracy, then it is no surprise that the process - whatever it is - has drifted so far from what we need it to be.