Raiko was an idiot and was remarkably shortsighted in how he operated. His caution was rooted more in the interests of keeping his office than meeting the needs of the people. Zhu Li was infinitely more intelligent and focused on being there for the people and getting her hands dirty in the process.
Also, being president is a far easier job than being her now-husband's secretary. Granted, to be married to Varrick you pretty much have to be ready to deal with tyrannical and duplicitous behavior on the regular. Her therapist must be making a mint with how much she could unload from her time working for Varrick.
