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.”
Education
Principled, Punchy Pols Are Popular Pols
I’ve written previously in this space about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has garnered enormous popularity while governing courageously. Today, with a new Quinnipiac poll about Gov.
Media
Read More: Principled, Punchy Pols Are Popular PolsRegulation
Pennsylvania State and School Pension Costs
Pennsylvania taxpayers fund two statewide pension plans for government employees—the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) for state employees and the Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) for school employees. PSERS…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvania State and School Pension CostsCriminal Justice Reform
Saving Rather than Spending in Corrections
Last week, PCN’s Call In Program featured a great discussion with PA Corrections Sec. John Wetzel. The Secretary is committed to both saving money and improving safety by making sure…
Media
Read More: Saving Rather than Spending in CorrectionsRegulation
House Passes Corporate Welfare Reform
This week the Pennsylvania House passed RACP (pronounced RCAP) reform by a wide margin of 184 to 9. RACP – the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program – is a political…
Media
Read More: House Passes Corporate Welfare ReformTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvania’s Fork in the Road on Transportation Spending
Motorists frustrated with high gas prices should be on the alert—your pain at the pump could get worse, and it has nothing to do with Middle East tensions or gas…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Fork in the Road on Transportation SpendingTaxes & Economy
Fighting Fiction with Fracking Facts
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking to Tea Party Patriots of Central Pa on environmental aspects of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania and new Marcellus Shale regulations and…
Media
Read More: Fighting Fiction with Fracking FactsGovernment Accountability
National Popular Vote: Radical Shift in Elections
Yesterday, the House Republic Policy Committee held a hearing on National Popular Vote (NPV). If passed, Pennsylvania would join a compact of states agreeing to award their electoral votes…
Media
Read More: National Popular Vote: Radical Shift in ElectionsEducation
Does School Choice Harm Public Schools?
This is a common question among school choice skeptics about whether school choice drains funding from public schools. According to new research by The Friedman Foundation for Educational…
Media
Read More: Does School Choice Harm Public Schools?Criminal Justice Reform
Chart of the Day: Corrections Spending
Today’s chart highlights the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ skyrocketing spending since 1980. This unsustainable growth is part of the four-alarm fire that threatens Pennsylvania’s fiscal house. For more…
Media
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War on Welfare Fraud Raging
Look out welfare swindlers, there’s a new sheriff in town and he aims to take you off the street and protect taxpayer money. And that’s not just tough talk; he’s…
Media
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Budget numbers often depend on whose numbers they are
Media Hit
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PLCB Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smell that, PLCB? No, it’s not what the Rock’s been cookin’ or teen spirit, it’s the sweet smell of freedom wafting from places like Seattle today where Washington state begins the…
Media
Read More: PLCB Smells Like Teen SpiritEducation
Does Underfunding Pensions “Help the Kids”?
A letter I recently submitted to the Allentown Morning Call on state education subsidies and pension funding: The Morning Call’s article on state subsidies to school districts has…
Media
Read More: Does Underfunding Pensions “Help the Kids”?Public Union Democracy
Big Bucks for Government Union Bosses
Union bosses frequently criticize corporate CEOs and government leaders for supposedly taking home hefty pay at workers’ expense. Just this week, protesters picketed House Majority Whip Stan Saylor’s office…
Media
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Of Mice, Barbie and Prevailing Wage
In March of 1961, the Soviet Union shot a dog, some mice and a guinea pig into space. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., nine black students from Mississippi…
Media
Read More: Of Mice, Barbie and Prevailing WageCriminal Justice Reform
Nurses’ Union Opposes Corrections Reform
At yesterday’s House Appropriations Committee, Department of Corrections Sec. John Wetzel explained his roadmap to reducing corrections spending, now the third-largest department in the General Fund Budget. What was…
Media
Read More: Nurses’ Union Opposes Corrections ReformPublic Union Democracy
Construction Workers Picket Rep. Saylor
No sooner did we release research documenting the iron grip of Pennsylvania’s labor unions on the commonwealth’s taxpayers than they obliged us with a case-in-point on union bullying tactics.
Media
Read More: Construction Workers Picket Rep. SaylorTaxes & Economy
Who Wants to Pay More for Electricity?
A new study by the Manhattan Institute confirms that forcing states to purchase renewable energy hurts taxpayers. Pennsylvania is one of the 29 states (as well as the…
Media
Read More: Who Wants to Pay More for Electricity?Public Union Democracy
How Unions Put the Squeeze on Pennsylvanians
We’ve talked before about how passing meaningful reform on anything from school choice to prevailing wage has been stymied not by a Democrat vs. Republican fight in Pennsylvania’s legislature, but…
Media
Read More: How Unions Put the Squeeze on Pennsylvanians