West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder wrote a glowing testimonial to EnergySolutions this week, part of a series of advertorials the radioactive waste disposal firm is running in local newspapers. He said he thinks the company provides a valuable service to the nation, and gets a bum rap in return. As a result of this misguided missive, Winder is to EnergySolutions as Kirstie Alley was to Jenny Craig and Joe DiMaggio to Mr. Coffee ­— a shill, a mouthpiece, a flack. Sort of.

Winder wasn’t paid to pen the piece. Neither was the public relations firm for which he works. And he’s not apologizing for his support of EnergySolutions, which has dropped its ill-advised attempt to import radioactive waste from overseas, but still hopes to bring domestic depleted uranium and blended waste, which contains hotter waste than Utah law allows, to the Beehive State.

“I don’t apologize for complimenting a Utah company [that] employs many residents of my city and contributes to the economic well-being of our state,” Winder said in a statement issued Wednesday. (Never mind that radioactive waste turns off tourists, and could give pause to companies looking to relocate here, costing the state jobs.)

But you have to wonder if the mayor had ulterior motives. Winder’s wife worked for the firm 11 years ago; he sought and accepted a $500 campaign contribution from the company last year; and — put a star by this one — the mayor works as director of public affairs for The Summit Group, a public relations firm that counts EnergySolutions as a client.

We know these facts because Winder revealed all in the ad. But the freshman mayor mistakenly believed that disclosing his ties to the company would somehow earn him a pass for his ethically questionable actions. It does not.

While the disclosures certainly serve to discredit Winder’s opinion, they do little to absolve the mayor of poor judgment. A public official should never tarnish his title by lending its prestige to a private firm in a paid advertisement.

Worse, public officials should never benefit financially from their positions. And any reasonable person would discount Winder’s contention that he’ll receive nothing for his support. Surely the ringing endorsement will help keep Winder’s company in EnergySolutions’ good graces, assuring that The Summit Group will have a continued role to play in the waste management firm’s marketing efforts.

That said, we appreciate the candor in Winder’s statement, in which he acknowledged that lending his name and title to a paid ad was inappropriate. “We should demand better of our public officials, and you will have better from me.”