There's no single elected official that has power to fix this. It's a complex web of responsibilities. Government has immense momentum. It's a herculean task for even a majority of elected officials to significantly change its direction. Many times that's exactly what we want. In this case it's working against us.
In that light, it's really amazing that your parents' town accomplished that. Instituting an income tax where there was none before is also drastic, so that must have helped a lot.