IMO the problem is that "politician" is a career. Now the municipal government is just one rung on the ladder, and the worst thing is not getting elected (getting fired). There is no incentive for career politicians to do anything other than what will help in the next election cycle.
Politics used to be a hobby for the already successful who wanted to give back. These people were bound by a sense of what was right. Elitist as hell, yes, but at least they weren't trying to climb the corporate ladder.
Crazy suggestion: Bar politicians from owning property or having any income (including gifts of goods or services) apart from the stipend for their appointed position. For life. Everything owned beforehand has to be given away as a condition of holding political office. They can retain a small allotment of personal items officially owned by the government but left in their care for their own personal use. No stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or any other investments. A pension for retirement is included, of course, provided they manage to avoid being convicted of any malfeasance during their tenure.
See how many career politicians you get under those conditions.
Literally no one would ever seek public office for any reason, at any level, if it meant losing everything they own and any ability to own property or gain income apart from a presumably meager stipend for the rest of their lives (so definitely no young politicians with fresh ideas) and then lose their retirement if (I assume, given the tone of this premise) they get so much as a parking ticket.
I know Americans hate politicians but we treat mass murderers better than that. We definitely treat billionaires who are far more corrupt and have far more power than most politicians better than that. Why not go full Thomas Jefferson as well and just hang all the politicians every 20 years?
No one with a profit motive would be interested, which is the whole idea. You'd get idealists and people seeking to make a name for themselves instead. (I'm not saying this is a perfect system BTW. I even called it a "crazy suggestion".)
> I know Americans hate politicians but we treat mass murderers better than that.
The point is not to punish politicians but rather to ensure that there can be no conflicts of interest, or at least none rooted in a quest for material gain.
> if (I assume, given the tone of this premise) they get so much as a parking ticket.
"Malfeasance" goes a bit beyond parking tickets. What I had in mind was more along the lines of bribery or corruption, not simple mistakes.
It's a terrible idea to give all the power to idealists (even granting this is possible). Corrupt cynics can be bargained with. The damage idealists can do is unbounded.
Hey, my answer is actually to eliminate the position and put no one in power. I don't trust all idealists myself, though I'm not convinced corruption is better. But the OP was pinning for the rose-tinted days of yore when great politicians ran for office to do good and not to make money, so I suggested a scheme designed to encourage exactly that.
Politics used to be a hobby for the already successful who wanted to give back. These people were bound by a sense of what was right. Elitist as hell, yes, but at least they weren't trying to climb the corporate ladder.