I moved to an HOA after living in a city neighborhood dominated by the actual mafia. I thought an HOA run by suburban neighbors might be better.
In practice, it’s only a little bit better.
As Albert Einstein observed, “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.”
Your experience reminds me of the quote from Harry Truman when he said, “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth there’s hardly any difference”.