That might be their way of thinking but sometimes things go in the other direction. The most critical voice against the city government where I lived in the ear

That might be their way of thinking but sometimes things go in the other direction. The most critical voice against the city government where I lived in the early 2010s got hired by the mayor to become a "special advisor". That shut her up completely. Instead of scathing columns about government corruption, she put out the occasional press release for the mayor over his two terms. IIRC, there was a similar storyline in the tv show 'Spin City', which makes me think it is a somewhat common thing to happen.