That's a bold claim. The federal system can be incompetent and isn't autonomous. But lower level local ones tend to be especially if far away from politically contentious topics until you get to counties that are really small. Representative elections are both about accountability and about representation so I don't have to worry about minutia. As long as rules are followed and you have systems that remove influence peddling (not so much appointments as above-board job interviews with many candidates), then you can let failing to follow such rules be a scandal that takes out the politician that tried to corrupt the system.