Carmel is a charming women. I think there is a need for more people like her in positions of almost total power. How can "hands off leadership" and "overzealousness" go wrong.
I think Dark Triad is at work. You cant be a CIA agent unless you are good at lying but then you cant be expected to uphold law and be accountable for the exact same reason.
A DA who has compassion for people, who tries to be nice and keep the community safe without being overzealous is likely to lose to someone who keep trash talking criminals, puts lot of people behind bars etc.
"Mr. X is a child abuser, should he be sent to jail? " How can anyone answer NO to that question but in reality Mr. X married a girl of 17 years old and could have had a very happy married life.
