I come to talk to other blues about issues affecting our club. However authoritarian, or not, the mods are has no bearing on it.
I make this suggestion tongue in cheek but not wholly - how about electing mods based on a members vote ? Open disclosure of banning instances and reasons for bans would ensure mods were judged on their records and not arbitrarily chosen by King Blue Moon. They could even post video presentations informing us why they would make good moderators and urging us to vote for them. Such an election could take place in summer giving us members a real focal point to hone in on during the close season. I might even run for election myself.
I'd go for a voting system based on who people would ban should they become a moderator.