I assumed you were getting downvoted initially for the disingenuous “both sides” rhetoric which is a non-point that has been gone over in detail here ad nauseum, and then subsequently because you doubled down by implying if people downvoted your first point, it means they think politicians have their best interests in mind. I don’t think anyone believes that, so it kind of reads like you’re tilting at windmills.
5k people is a bigger population than many towns yes, but crammed into a 250x250x1100 foot box in the biggest case (Ford class)