They are certainly more accountable than someone appointed by a politician. If you have a real issue with an elected official they're at least somewhat incentivized to listen to you. This is especially true at the level we're talking about - local government where they're dealing with constituents dozens of times a day every day. These elections are decided by a few hundred people at most - often by a few dozen. Yes it falls apart when you start talking about US Senators and the like but I'd argue that's a problem of scale and not a failing of the electoral model generally.
