Becoming actively involved in politics is a quixotic endeavour with a high personal cost and very low chances of success. Moving out has much lower cost and much higher chances of solving your problem.

Thank goodness some people get into politics anyway, but it is not a rational choice for a utility-maximizing actor.

It's actually not hard to get into local politics and you can certainly get things done. There's not a lot of competition or money involved and most people haven't figured out you can do it yet. Mainly what happens is older people will scream at you when you say you want a bike lane.

It does take a lot of patience though; you won't get much done in the first year or two.