The National Association of Realtors (NAR), one of the nation’s largest lobbying organizations, has promoted Jon Waclawski to vice president of political advocacy.
Waclawski formerly served as senior political compliance counsel and director of legal affairs.
In his new role, Waclawski will lead strategy for all of NAR’s federal, state, and local political programs and he will continue to advise on political law and federal and state campaign finance.
“Since Jon joined NAR in 2017, he has played a vital role in our political programming at every level of the association. He knows these programs front and back and has the experience and vision to move them forward,” Shannon McGahn, NAR’s chief advocacy officer, said in a statement.
Waclawski, a former Republican political operative, will also oversee NAR’s fundraising efforts and will help lead political education and training for NAR members, according to the announcement. In addition, Waclawski will director REALTOR Party activities programs, grants, and resources that help realtor associations advance public policies and support candidates that are favorable to NAR’s mission and members.
“Our members are on the ground in every town in America protecting and promoting property ownership,” NAR CEO Bob Goldberg said in a statement. “Our state and local advocacy programs are transforming communities. Jon has the unique experience to lead our political programming from Washington to Main Street.”
Waclawski comes from a diverse political and legal background. Prior to joining NAR, Waclawski served as in-house general counsel for former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and as a partner in a boutique political law firm. He also served in various fundraising, operative and legal roles as both state and national political committees.
In its most recent foray into attempting to influence public policy, the NAR filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court last Thursday claiming that a recent appeals court decision over floor plans “misrepresents federal law and would invalidate decades of legal precedent by allowing copyright infringement lawsuits to be filed against homeowners who make or display floor plans of their own homes.”
“The U.S. housing market accounted for roughly 18% of our country’s GDP in 2020,” NAR general counsel Katie Johnson said in a statement. “The Eighth Circuit’s decision not only puts countless consumers at risk of costly, burdensome litigation for making a floor plan of their own home, but it also strains a key sector of America’s economy and threatens a critical tool of transparency for potential home buyers.”
In the Copyright Act of 1976, congress specifically allowed for homeowner to create “pictures” or “pictorial representations” of architectural works with no liability. NAR claims that this ruling goes against the act and will hurt homebuyers and sellers.
