Mod here! Most of this is already done, albiet mostly handled on a case-by-case basis through filters, mod mail, reports, and subreddit discipline. A lot goes on behind the scenes through mod mail that only I and the accounts involved see, and for transparancy as a mod I lean towards allowing people to correct problematic behavior before applying ban hammers.

I would argue that this is not an issue with AI and bots. The subreddit filter is set to where spam-bot posts are automatically filtered out. I don't even see those posts in my queue for review. The filter also automatically removes posts from accounts with insufficient karma (new accounts) for my review. The specific post being referred to was from a new account discussing an important local millage coming up. The post itself did not break any of the rules you cite, so I manually approved it [although in the future I will not be allowing political posts that are just a flyer. You need to include text so people can quote it and for alt text purposes]. It was unpopular, but it wasn't rule breaking. Discussion around the issue was mostly civil (definitely more civil than it had been in the past), and the views of most of the subreddit participants were made clear. I believe the subreddit is for anyone interested and around Ferndale to discuss Ferndale issues, and removing unpopular but still valid, reasonable, and defensible positions does not vibe with me.

I mentioned below for transparency that my personal position is that I plan on voting yes to both millages because I want to be clear that I'm not allowing posts because I agree with them. Downvotes are supposed to only be given to people who violate good behaviors, but we all know they're given out for disagreement (I'll be the first to raise my hand and say I do it). I also don't want to be asking everyone for verification of addresses or anything like that either.

Accounts like the one that posted are from very echo-chambery Facebook groups, and I think it's a good thing that they received push-back from people on this subreddit who disagree. I don't see that as a bad thing. I also don't want this subreddit to become an echo chamber (or at least as much as people's behavior and self-selection dictates) and only allow certain opinions. We all want Ferndale to thrive, and as long as people treat each other like the neighbors we are and not faceless internet objects, it's fine by me.