The entrenched bureaucracy you describe is what's known as The Deep State here.

No matter who is elected, no matter what the taxpayers want, they have been there for 20 or 40 years, and they run things in a way to benefit themselves.

I experienced that when I was elected to our School Board. Anything the Board wanted to do that THEY didn't like, they would slow-roll, or lean backwards on, and nothing seemed to change

We have a chance here to get rid of some of these shadowy dictators, but we can't assume that the window of opportunity will be there long.

Lannis