The continued demise of true representative government and the rising control by oligarchs at the state and federal level is well documented. I’ve tried to use this column to shed light on the problem in Austin just as national news outlets have done with Washington, D.C. Now, the problem is coming for our local communities. Unfortunately, county and city governments, school boards and other political subdivisions are experiencing takeovers by supposed “leaders” who come to power by their willingness to serve as sycophants for billionaire theo-oligarchs and their dark networks of political operatives. If that all sounds too conspiratorial, consider...