One of the arguments that's been used by people on the side of Ken Weir in the Planning Commission Conflagration of 2008 (Part One) has been that Russell Johnson works for Mike Maggard, and that's a conflict.

It's legally not a conflict of interest, but it does raise the question of smell test.

Mike Maggard is a public official, elected by many of the same people who elected Ken Weir. Maggard probably believes in all the same things Weir professes to believe in — planning standards such as property rights, responsible development, the security of a long-term plan, mom and apple pie. It seems the worst one can accuse Johnson of is reporting to Maggard, who reports to the voters.

And what about other officials who work for, well, other officials? Andy Stanley, a field rep for Kevin McCarthy now an employee of County Supervisor Ray Watson, was appointed to the planning commission just last year by Weir ally Zack Scrivner, who himself works for Jean Fuller. Is that a conflict?

Of course, while it may not be a conflict of interests, it may be a conflict of factions. Stanley, McCarthy, Scrivner, Fuller and Weir are all in the Thomas-Abernathy camp of the local Republicans, while Johnson and Maggard are in the Ashburn camp.

And then there are the other planning commissioners. Ted Blockley is an architect. Tom McGinnis is a real estate agent. Those seem pretty conflict-prone, but they're on the planning commission. And in fact, every planning commission I've ever covered has been staffed largely with professionals from the affected industries, because those are the people who have the interest and are willing to put in the time.