At the risk of ruining whatever chance I might have to get onto the council, I'm going to be honest with you: we can't know for certain what goes on behind the scenes. That was one of the many things that troubled me about politics when I found myself living several decades into the future. As I was catching up and adjusting to my new life, it became clear that my country had gone in a very wrong direction over the years, and it was difficult to see how I could do anything about it. I'm just one person, after all. A few years later, I found out that an evil organization that I had previously fought was still alive, hiding in secret within another organization that was supposed to be there to protect us.
So I understand your hesitation. Politics and leadership involve a lot of trust. We trust that they have our best interests in mind, we trust that they'll do whatever they can to help us out. How do any of us know who is genuine and who isn't? How do we know which current council members are genuine? The truth is we often don't know for sure. Not everyone is corrupt. I think most people aren't, but that those who are only interested in power tend to be the ones who seek it out more often, which is a problem. What we can do, then, is constantly question those who are appointed to lead us, to never become complacent, and to never give up hope. We hold them accountable for what happens, and we pay attention.