Erik Telford
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs
Erik Telford is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at the Commonwealth Foundation.
Erik is a senior public affairs and communications executive with more than 15 years of diverse experience across public policy, advocacy, and public affairs institutions. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, Erik served as the senior vice president at Stand Together Communications, the Koch network’s marketing and communications capability. Erik has also served as the president of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, a state-based watchdog journalism organization. And at Americans for Prosperity, he was the executive director of RightOnline (an initiative he founded) and the director of membership and online strategy. He is currently on the board of the American Commitment Foundation.
In 2013, Campaigns & Elections Magazine honored Erik as an “Advocacy Innovator” and in 2011 as a “Rising Star in American Politics.” Politics Online named him one of the “Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics.”
Lawmakers immune to turnpike toll hikes
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PHEAA turns to debt collection
Topics on this page Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency…
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Foreign Federation Finances Phony Frackophobic Film
A new anti-fracking movie, Promised Land, is set to release in a couple of months, but controversy around the movie is already in full swing. The film has come…
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Read More: Foreign Federation Finances Phony Frackophobic FilmHealth Care
Principles for Health Care Reform
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands Medicaid, subsidizes health insurance for middle class families, and creates new federal health insurance regulations. To pay for this additional spending, the ACA makes…
Fact Sheet
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Lowe’s Shows Dignity of Work, Helps Disabled
The Union Party never minces words: They believe the best way to help people is to grow government. That’s the message they’ve brought to bear throughout the Corbett Administration,…
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Read More: Lowe’s Shows Dignity of Work, Helps DisabledRegulation
Mailbag: Would Eliminating Tax Credits Really Lower Taxes?
Last month, I testified to the House Finance Committee that targeted tax breaks and corporate welfare subsidies prevent across-the-board tax rate reductions that would benefit all Pennsylvanians. As a follow-up…
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Read More: Mailbag: Would Eliminating Tax Credits Really Lower Taxes?Criminal Justice Reform
Corrections Home Run for Gov. Corbett?
Under Gov. Tom Corbett’s leadership, Pennsylvania unanimously passed (Senate Bill 100) part of a landmark corrections reform package last session. SB 100, now Act 122 of 2012, aims to…
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Gov. Corbett Earns “A” for Fiscal Firefighting
Gov. Tom Corbett was one of only four governors to get an “A” in Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors. Corbett was joined by Govs. Sam…
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Read More: Gov. Corbett Earns “A” for Fiscal FirefightingEducation
How Much Do Philadelphia Schools Spend?
Following Matt’s appearance on WHYY yesterday morning, we’ve received questions over our calculation on Philadelphia school district spending per student. The error was ours. Based on the latest spending…
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Don’t fire arrows without arrowheads in corrections reforms
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Do we really value inclusion in schools?
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Education trigger belongs in Pennsylvania parents’ hands
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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Medicaid Expansion Bad Deal for Patients
Health care interest groups took to the press in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg to argue for expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania, but these advocates overlook the program’s flaws and its long-term…
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Read More: Medicaid Expansion Bad Deal for PatientsEducation
“Won’t Back Down” Captures Heart of Education
“Won’t Back Down” is a movie about education that fittingly begins and ends with a close-up of a child reading aloud. Education debates in America frequently whirl…
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Read More: “Won’t Back Down” Captures Heart of EducationGovernment Accountability
Oh, Great, More “Convenience”
From the fine makers of the wine kiosk catastrophe, government-branded grapes of wrath, uncorked comedic cronyism and wasteful wine surplus trailer parks comes “Convenience…
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Pennsylvania must pull parent trigger to save public education
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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Parental Choice + Competition = Better Schools
A new study of academic performance in Ohio finds that traditional public schools facing competition from charter schools experience greater gains in student learning. In summarizing the findings, the…
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PLCB Spills Grapes of Wrath!
Wine Shrines, Kiosk Catastrophes and ethics investigations step aside (okay, hold that last one), the Kings of Cabernet have uncorked their latest mayhem of modernization, malfeasance and…
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LCB leaves bad taste in critics’ mouths
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Pa. Must Pull Parent Trigger to Save Education
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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