Tom Zawistowski is president of We The People Convention and executive director of the Portage County TEA Party. He is also co-founder and CEO of TRZ Communications. He holds a communications degree from Edinboro State College and a master's degree in sports management from Kent State University.
DI has documented statements by Tom Zawistowski on 2026 Midterm Elections, Artificial Intelligence, and Election Security, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: We The People Convention president
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Zawistowski backed the exemption, arguing that prior-consent rules make low-cost political outreach harder for small volunteer groups and that the waiver should apply regardless of viewpoint.
“We're asking the FCC to stand up for free political speech and for the small, volunteer-driven organizations that keep our democracy working.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)We The People Convention backs Club for Growth petition at the FCCOctober 19 press release, quotation attributed to Tom Zawistowski; separate from the October 9 correspondence reproduced below.
Why we used this label
Relative to the proposed exemption, Zawistowski expressly supports granting it and argues that it would protect grassroots political speech.
Club for Growth asked the FCC to let political callers use prerecorded or AI voices on cellphones without prior consent, subject to call limits and opt-outs. Commissioner Anna Gomez, Common Cause and the Center for Democracy and Technology oppose the request, which is pending.
