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.”
Spending Revolt Tour: Day 2 Update
Day one of the Spending Revolt bus tour was a big success, with citizens of all ages turning out to greet the bus and demand fiscal restraint from our…
Media
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Lawmakers Should Read ALL Commonwealth Foundation Research
In a recent op-ed, Sen. Scarnati and Sen. Pileggi defended the Senate’s recent actions after a Lincoln Institute column described them as “leftist”. While the Senators cite CF’s research…
Media
Read More: Lawmakers Should Read ALL Commonwealth Foundation ResearchRegulation
Pennsylvania Needs True Pension Reform
The state pension time bomb is taking front stage again in the waning days of the 2009-2010 legislative session. The Senate is revisiting HB 2497—the $27 billion pension deferral…
Press Release
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Spending Revolt Tour: Day 1 Update
Day one of the Pennsylvania leg of the National Spending Revolt bus tour kicked off this morning in Erie. The weather, appropriately enough, is gloomy and gray—rather fitting, given…
Media
Read More: Spending Revolt Tour: Day 1 UpdateRegulation
Senate Must Insist on Real Pension Reform
The state pension time bomb is taking front stage again in the waning days of the 2009-2010 legislative session. The Senate is revisiting HB 2497—the $27 billion pension deferral…
Media
Read More: Senate Must Insist on Real Pension ReformEducation
Auditor General Hits the Wrong Target
Here is a note I sent to Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner regarding his call for a moratorium on new charter schools until the funding mechanism is “fixed”:…
Media
Read More: Auditor General Hits the Wrong TargetHealth Care
ObamaCare will Dramatically Increase Medicaid Costs in PA
A reader asked us what kind of effect ObamaCare would have on Medicaid costs in Pennsylvania. We’ve put together some numbers, and it’s not pretty. First of all, even without…
Media
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Immigration Verification and Welfare Fraud
Thank you for allowing the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, a non-partisan educational institute based in Harrisburg, to submit written testimony concerning HB 1359, which would require proof of…
Testimony
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Three myths about free market conservatives
Media Hit
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Charter school moratorium urged over funding in Pennsylvania
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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Pa auditor wants moratorium on new charter schools
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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Charter Schools Give Children a Choice and a Chance
HARRISBURG, PA – The Commonwealth Foundation provided important perspective today on Pennsylvania’s charter and cyber schools in response to Auditor General Jack Wagner’s recommendations, including a moratorium on expanding public…
Press Release
Read More: Charter Schools Give Children a Choice and a ChanceRegulation
Hey Big Spender
Yesterday, Gov. Rendell held a press conference to make note that Tom Corbett was overstating the amount of Pennsylvania taxpayer money Rendell was wasting on pork-barrel projects. Examples cited…
Media
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Arizona Sees Privatization as Solution to Budget Crisis
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is taking steps towards comprehensive state government reform, utilizing public-private partnerships and privatization of public services to save taxpayers money and ensure quality services continue. To…
Media
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The Only Way to Fix Public Pensions
The Baltimore Sun editorializes that the only way to fix the pension plan for state workers (in Maryland, though the same would hold true in Pennsylvania) is to move…
Media
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Cabot Squares Off with DEP
The pressure is building in Dimock, Pennsylvania, where the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and drilling company Cabot Oil and Gas are squaring off over a proposal to…
Media
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