As per Rune.. keeping the controversy outside the client might be best. Pointers on how to in the wiki and have the forum host detail of slates, with perhaps a sticky slate detail of the core devs by way of strong indicator.
I think there is some advantage in making the core devs more apparent.. perhaps biographies, even if fictional can help their getting votes. Are the ~business cases put somewhere easy to navigate?.. Perhaps could add those to the wiki.
There's a rather good exhibition on at the London V&A about political movements and identity
Disobedient Objects, which had me wonder that part of the way community and identity is encouraged is by tokens that acknowledge roles. Perhaps the forum could acknowledge people's roles in some way, so devs are less anonymous among the crowd.