Councilman Claude Mattox has been appointed vice chair of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee of the National League of Cities (NLC) in 2006.

Mattox’s appointment was announced by NLC President James C. Hunt, council member, Clarksburg, W.Va. The committee is one of NLC’s seven standing committees that develops policy positions and advocates on behalf of NLC on national issues involving municipal governments.

“Claude will serve as a valuable asset to this committee. It will be an honor to work with him and to benefit from his experienced leadership in the coming year,” said Hunt. “Important local concerns involving air and water quality and the federal energy bill are some of the key areas this committee will focus on this year.”

Councilman Mattox chairs the Phoenix City Council Environment and Natural Resources Subcommittee.

Each NLC policy and advocacy committee has a membership of 200 officials from cities and towns throughout the nation. The committees will hold their first meetings in March, during NLC’s annual Congressional City Conference in Washington, to discuss and identify specific policy issues to be addressed during the year as well as recommendations for action.

Annually, in December at the Congress of Cities, policy amendments are brought before the entire NLC membership at the annual business meeting. Once approved by the League’s membership, the NLC National Municipal Policy serves as the basis for the League’s advocacy on behalf of all local governments.

NLC is the nation’s oldest and largest municipal organization, with a membership of 1,600 cities and towns of all sizes. All of the nation’s 49 state municipal associations are members of NLC, making the League a national representative of more than 18,000 municipal governments throughout the United States.