John Huppenthal, state school superintendent in Arizona, admitted that he had posted many comments on conservative blogs using a pseudonym. Some of his comments were inflammatory.

“He likened welfare recipients to “lazy pigs.”

“He blamed the Great Depression on Franklin D. Roosevelt and said FDR’s economic policies gave rise to Hitler.

“He said Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was responsible for feeding 16 million African-Americans into abortion mills.

“He is state schools Superintendent John Huppenthal, and he admitted Wednesday that he made those comments, along with hundreds of more mundane musings, in anonymous posts on political blogs.”

Commentators disagree about the ethics of a public official making anonymous comments:

“While the inflammatory comments may pose an image issue for Huppenthal, who is seeking re-election, government-accountability experts say they also pose an ethical problem because elected officials should state their opinions publicly.

“There is a conflict of interest if an elected official is trying to skew the conversation in a way that supports their views,” said Fred Solop, Northern Arizona University’s political-science department chairman. “It’s a violation of the public trust, and (Huppenthal) needs to be held accountable.”

Todd Gitlin, an ethics specialist and chairman of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, said the issue is a simple one.

“Public officials should not post anonymously,” he said. “They’re elected to be accountable. They can’t be held accountable if they hide behind pseudonyms.”

“However, one Valley political consultant said anonymous communications aren’t new — or problematic.

“American history is littered with people writing anonymous pamphlets,” said Doug Cole of Highground Public Affairs Consultants.”

Huppenthal is in a re-election campaign. He supports vouchers, charters, and the Common Core.