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.”
Regulation
Senate Seeks to End Generational Theft
This week, Senate Majority Whip Pat Browne, Sen. Mike Brubaker, Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman, and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi announced plans to introduce pension reform legislation. The…
Media
Read More: Senate Seeks to End Generational TheftState Budget
Taxpayer Protection Act for Smarties
The Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA) would reasonably limit future growth in state government spending to inflation plus population growth, require the government to prioritize spending, create a Rainy Day Fund…
Poll
Read More: Taxpayer Protection Act for SmartiesState Budget
Appropriations Chair Endorses Spending Limits
Last week in his remarks at the Pennsylvania Press Club, Sen. Jake Corman endorsed the idea of spending limits for Pennsylvania state government. Corman expressed support for Sen. Mike Folmer’s proposed…
Media
Read More: Appropriations Chair Endorses Spending Limits
Union boss: 401(k)s insufficient for state government employees
Media Hit
Read More: Union boss: 401(k)s insufficient for state government employeesTaxes & Economy
Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!
The facts are starting to get in the way for critics of welfare reform. By reviewing just three months of non-contiguous out-of-state EBT card transactions (November 2011 to January…
Media
Read More: Nearly One Million Found in Out-of-State Welfare Fraud!Regulation
Top 5 Ways Liquor Monopoly Wastes Your Money
There’s good reason why other states, like Washington, have moved to get government out of the booze business, and aren’t looking to copy Pennsylvania’s flawed monopoly model. This post…
Media
Read More: Top 5 Ways Liquor Monopoly Wastes Your MoneyEducation
Readers Ask, We Answer: Education Spending
A reader asked us to help clarify the claims of Yinzercation blog on state education subsidies. The blogger claims the Corbett administration is being disingenuous about state K-12 education…
Media
Read More: Readers Ask, We Answer: Education SpendingEducation
When Districts Choose, Kids Lose
What if you were awaiting a letter to find out where local officials were going to send your child to school next year? What if one of the possibilities was…
Media
Read More: When Districts Choose, Kids LoseEducation
$27B + $15K = What?
The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently released school financial data for the 2010-11 school year. The latest data shows public school spending and revenue increased yet again in 2011,…
Media
Read More: $27B + $15K = What?Criminal Justice Reform
How YOU Benefit if Lawmakers Act on Corrections
Correcting the commonwealth’s criminal justice system is urgent. This is why Gov. Tom Corbett made it clear that he wants to see reform legislation on his desk by June…
Media
Read More: How YOU Benefit if Lawmakers Act on Corrections
State lawmakers dispute study from Keystone Research Center regarding alcohol privatization
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Read More: State lawmakers dispute study from Keystone Research Center regarding alcohol privatization
Pennsylvania Prison Reform: Taxpayers need a break
Media Hit
Read More: Pennsylvania Prison Reform: Taxpayers need a breakPublic Union Democracy
The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers
I heard on the radio this week another ridiculous ad against allowing retail stores to sell wine or liquor, funded by UFCW dues to play on stations across…
Media
Read More: The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers
What’s next for Pennsylvania’s public schools?
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
Media Hit
Read More: What’s next for Pennsylvania’s public schools?Criminal Justice Reform
Gov. Corbett Is Right: Real Corrections Reform, Right Now
We here at CF are proud to be part, along with Gov. George M. Leader, his family, and many others, of a transpartisan coalition favoring “real corrections reform, right…
Media
Read More: Gov. Corbett Is Right: Real Corrections Reform, Right NowEducation
School Choice Toolkit
Children at Pennsylvania’s worst-performing schools are frequently subjected to acts of violence. In the worst 140+ schools alone, with some 80,000 children, students faced nearly 10,000 acts of violence in…
Fact Sheet
Read More: School Choice ToolkitEducation
Save Our Schools or Save Our Kids?
Throngs of anti-parental choice supporters have rallied in Philadelphia today, demanding more taxpayer dollars for their cause. According to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham via her Twitter feed @newskag,…
Media
Read More: Save Our Schools or Save Our Kids?