So the only real option here is to fork out the ninja mined stake and start over on a forked Steem blockchain.

A fork is the short term solution. In my opinion the DPOS protocol has encountered its governance flaws. The protocol itselfs needs an improvement for the "NEWSTEEM" long term sustainability.

I invite you to read my ideas about how an improved DPOS protocol should be and maybe share your thoughts:

Reputational Enhanced Delegated Proof-of-Stake (REDPOS)