At least in small towns the offending persons are usually identified and either voted or thrown out of office. I lived for almost a decade in a small beachside town where the school board was always fighting with the town council. The mayor was locked out his office once as a political ploy (he was a really nice guy, btw). More @Wikipedia
Hover over any link to get a description of the article. Please note that search keywords are sometimes hidden within the full article and don't appear in the description or title.