I've never seen an online community in which open applications for mod/admin positions caused anything but drama.
While I get what you're saying about transparency, we all need to remember that this forum is not a democracy and that the admins aren't accountable to the community. When you talk about keeping the power of the admins in check, you're talking about making a fundamental change in the nature of this messageboard.
You're right, as far as I'm concerned the only thing admins and moderators should be doing is stopping spam and making sure hackers don't take down the site, that's all I ever do, I have no interest in being the moral police for morals that aren't necessarily correct in the first place.