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.”
Government Accountability
Flava Flav-style Facts Foil Dimock Disaster Drama
As Public Enemy taught my generation: Don’t believe the hype! That’s never been truer than in digesting the jaw-dropping Dimock disaster drama dumped on the Pennsylvania public…
Media
Read More: Flava Flav-style Facts Foil Dimock Disaster DramaEducation
Who’s Eligible for PA Opportunity Scholarships?
Just weeks ago, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Corbett threw a major lifeline to thousands of children trapped in violent and failing public schools. Click…
Media
Read More: Who’s Eligible for PA Opportunity Scholarships?
Sen. Browne comes to the rescue in the state’s fiscal crisis
Media Hit
Read More: Sen. Browne comes to the rescue in the state’s fiscal crisisEducation
Unable to Win, Union Bosses Try to Change Election Rules
My younger brother Matt and I often enjoy an intense pickup one-on-one basketball game. Being seven years older, I had the advantage for a long time. As kids, I was…
Media
Read More: Unable to Win, Union Bosses Try to Change Election RulesCriminal Justice Reform
Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections Reform
Reforming our state corrections system is not being soft on crime—it is being smart on crime. To achieve transformative corrections reform, lawmakers should finish this critical legislative package and build…
Commentary
Read More: Don’t Fire Arrows without Arrowheads in Corrections ReformGovernment Accountability
‘Shocked and Appalled’ by PLCB
You’ve heard of shock and awe? Well here is ‘shock and appalled,’ brought to you by the duplicitous, doublespeaking Deacons of Distilleries who are at it again, this time dumping…
Media
Read More: ‘Shocked and Appalled’ by PLCBEducation
Taxpayers Benefit from School Choice
I had a letter to the editor in Friday’s edition of the Philadelphia Daily News on the benefits of the expansion of school choice in Pennsylvania for taxpayers…
Media
Read More: Taxpayers Benefit from School ChoiceHealth Care
Medicaid Big Threat to States
A new study by the State Budget Crisis Task Force found Medicaid is one of the six biggest threats facing states. That should be no surprise to our readers.
Media
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Debt mounts from state school building boom
Media Hit
Read More: Debt mounts from state school building boomWelfare
NYT Blasts Corbett, Misses Facts
Recently, the New York Times ran an editorial that willfully neglected to mention the utter failure of more welfare spending to reduce poverty in Pennsylvania. The editorial was long on…
Media
Read More: NYT Blasts Corbett, Misses FactsTaxes & Economy
Happy Cost of Government Day 2012
Today Pennsylvania reached its Cost of Government Day, according to Americans for Tax Reform’s annual report. In other words, it took the average Keystone worker until July 20, or…
Media
Read More: Happy Cost of Government Day 2012Public Union Democracy
Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?
The City of Scranton is broke. It can’t pay its employees and faces a budget deficit of about $16 million this year, thanks to a toxic combination of declining…
Media
Read More: Unions Bankrupt Scranton, Who’s Next?
Report details the six gravest threats to states’ fiscal stability
Media Hit
Read More: Report details the six gravest threats to states’ fiscal stabilityRegulation
Moody’s Sounds the Four Alarms
Yesterday, Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Pennsylvania’s bond rating one level. The downgrade implies Pennsylvania bonds are riskier than previously assessed, and it could make it more expensive for the…
Media
Read More: Moody’s Sounds the Four AlarmsRegulation
Map of the Day: Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities
Pennsylvania’s government-run liquor monopoly doesn’t make citizens safer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on alcohol-attributable deaths ranks Pennsylvania middle of the pack in terms of deaths per…
Media
Read More: Map of the Day: Alcohol-Related Traffic FatalitiesWelfare
State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety Net
Last week, I noted a number of states whose governors were refusing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act because of the costs the expansion would impose. Over…
Media
Read More: State Flexibility Essential to Preserving the Safety NetGovernment Accountability
Union Privileges Fuel More Money in Politics
Turns out not everything is bigger in Texas. The Lone Star State has twice the population of Pennsylvania, yet when it comes to political spending, Pennsylvania’s labor unions can outgun…
Media
Read More: Union Privileges Fuel More Money in PoliticsRegulation
Popping Popular Privatization Myths
When short on facts, blow a lot of hot air. That’s the strategy of liquor store union boss Wendell Young IV. Wendell and I were panelists on a recent Delaware County…
Media
Read More: Popping Popular Privatization Myths