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.”
Pa. budget deal leaves some work undone
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How did Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett fare on his first state budget?
Topics on this page PennsylvaniaTom Corbett…
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Cut Waste at This Temple, and I Will Praise It in Three Days
Temple University just announced that it is raising tuition by ten percent, blaming the new state budget. Temple is an outstanding example of an institution that should have spent…
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Read More: Cut Waste at This Temple, and I Will Praise It in Three DaysState Budget
Pennsylvania’s $1.9 Billion Budget Shortfall
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue released preliminary FY 2010-11 revenue collection. Their statement says: Fiscal year 2010-11 General Fund collections totaled $27.5 billion, which is $785.5 million,…
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The Good, The Bad and The Undone
The Commonwealth Foundation praised Gov. Tom Corbett and the General Assembly for closing Pennsylvania’s $4.2 billion budget gap without raising taxes on working Pennsylvanians, but a thorough review of the…
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Are Tuition Hikes Forced by Cuts in State Subsidies?
Today, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) voted to raise tuition by 7.5 percent for 2011-12. Many have tried to place the blame solely on the reduction…
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Read More: Are Tuition Hikes Forced by Cuts in State Subsidies?Government Accountability
Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania at Last
Pennsylvania taxpayers are one step closer to finding out exactly how state government spends their money. Yesterday, the legislature passed HB 15 to establish PennWATCH—a free public spending database…
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Read More: Spending Transparency Coming to Pennsylvania at LastState Budget
Pennsylvania Budget for Smarties
The total state operating budget is $64 billion...and will be reduced for the first time in at least 40 years. While adults employed in public schools complain education is being…
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Read More: Pennsylvania Budget for SmartiesRegulation
Big Brother Buys Booze Brother
MOSCOW HARRISBURG (June 30) – If there’s something strange, in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Apparently Dan Aykroyd, if you’re the buck burning booze brokers known…
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Read More: Big Brother Buys Booze BrotherState Budget
General Fund Spending in Budget Deal
The FY 2011-12 budget deal includes $27.1 billion in General Fund spending, as part of the state's approximately $64 billion total operating budget. The deal represents a reduction of $3…
Fact Sheet
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More Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying from School Districts
Public schools complain of underfunding, yet they are spending your tax dollars to lobby for more funding and against school choice, as property taxes skyrocket. The latest salvo comes from…
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University Subsidy Bills Nixed, What Now?
Last night, Pennsylvania House Democrats voted to defeat legislation on state subsidies for Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University, as well as for…
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Nation’s Eyes upon PA GOP
With a Republican-controlled Senate and a Republican-controlled House, national news outlets are joining Pennsylvania citizens who are starting to wonder why Republican Gov. Tom Corbett isn’t able to deliver on his campaign promises. One…
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Don’t Fall for the False Choice on Tuition and Taxpayers
I see that right now, our legislators are once again debating cuts to the generous subsidies our public universities receive from taxpayers. Some are claiming that if the cuts pass,…
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Read More: Don’t Fall for the False Choice on Tuition and TaxpayersRegulation
Chairman Wow Commends Kiosk Catastrophe
MOSCOW HARRISBURG – From the “They Just Don’t Get It” file comes confirmation from the commissar himself that Orwellian doublespeak is alive and well in Pennsylvania government. In…
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Bottom line: Vouchers can help neediest children
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Do Seven Rapes Get Your Attention?
Today, CF delivered Life Savers to state legislators to remind them they still have three days to be a life-saver for kids in failing and violent schools. One…
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Tightening the Belt on Higher Education
Tuition rates continue to skyrocket year after year, but the cost of providing a college education hasn’t increased much over the past 50 years. In a recent Cato study,…
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Saving Harrisburg?
In their efforts to “save Harrisburg” through a state takeover should the city fail to adopt Act 47 recommendations, lawmakers have overlooked one extremly effective option: school choice. Despite state…
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