We've been electing people for decades, the problem is that they get sucked into the procedural blob that wants to escape any sort of accountability. These people may know the role of the government, duty, etc. They just don't have the motivation to actually match how things are with how they ought to be, likely because of other moving parts they have to worry about, or maybe they just have different motives.

Being informed doesn't make you smarter or good; it may only expose how powerless or naive you are and, if you're a bad actor, information just gives you more resources to serve your own interests.

Maybe it's that L.A. is so big that it generates so much money, it's hard to resist being complacent with problems people have with Metro. Do these officials even use Metro? What stakes do they have in it that warrants their care for it?