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.”
State Rep.: Outlaw transit strikes in Phila.
Topics on this page Philadelphia…
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Philadelphia to Count Illegal Immigrants to Get More Taxpayer Funds
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has issued an executive order to stop city officials from asking immigration status for the express purpose of boosting the city’s population in the Census,…
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Full Time Legislator, Part Time County Councilman?!?
Capitolwire (subscription) is reporting that State Representative Mario Civera (R- Delaware), who was recently elected to the Delaware County Council, is now rethinking resigning, and planning both to stay…
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PA Should Heed Europe’s Experience with Renewables
Last month the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released Pennsylvania’s Climate Change Action plan. While touting the creation of “green jobs”, it did not advocate increasing PA’s…
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Read More: PA Should Heed Europe’s Experience with RenewablesGovernment Accountability
Break Up SEPTA
How can Pennsylvania lawmakers avoid this mess? The first step is to open mass transit in Philadelphia to competitive contracting, whereby private companies would compete to operate SEPTA's network.
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Pennsylvania Spending Transparency Moves a Step Forward
The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee advanced HB 1880, sponsored by Representative Rick Mirabito, that would create an online database of state spending, similar to legislation already enacted…
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Read More: Pennsylvania Spending Transparency Moves a Step ForwardRegulation
Gambling – The Savior to PA’s Fiscal Problems?
Any prudent individual would not plan on gambling winnings to become prosperous or even to get out of debt. But the state of Pennsylvania, turns to gambling to resolve all…
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Why Health Care “Reform” Could Increase the Number Uninsured
Marty Feldstein has an editorial in the Washington Post detailing how the current health care reform proposals in Congress could actually increase the number of uninsured individuals. Namely, he…
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How Pa. can prevent the next SEPTA strike
Topics on this page PennsylvaniaSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority…
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More Proof that Government Spending Hurts the Economy
The Tax Foundation highlights a new NBER paper by Harvard economists, “Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes Versus Spending,” which analyzes the fiscal policies of OECD countries from…
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Privatizing School Bus Drivers
In last Tuesday’s race for Central Dauphin school board candidates clashed over the privatization of the district’s busing. The pro-privatization candidate- Chris Judd narrowly won, but that hasn’t silenced the…
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Alliance Still Fighting to Stop I-80 Tolling
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – seems to be the motto of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as they seek once again to Toll I-80. The…
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End Rate Caps to Create Electric Choice and Competition
Concern about potential price hikes in the midst of a recession may motivate some lawmakers to push for legislation to halt or delay that expiration under the guise of consumer…
Commentary
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If Your Erection Lasts Longer than a SEPTA Strike …
Alex Charyna points out this tidbit in the Philadelphia Daily News – one demand of the SEPTA union was more Viagra: Yes, it appears that labor issues…
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Worst Idea for Fixing State Pensions
Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord told the Pocono Record that now is the time to address the state pension crisis, rather than later, a point the Commonwealth Foundation agrees…
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A Brilliant Idea to Balance Cities’ Budget
The city of Harrisburg is hiring a consultant to give some tips to balance its budget, ABC 27 reports. Lancaster, PA hired the same firm a few years ago…
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Read More: A Brilliant Idea to Balance Cities’ BudgetGovernment Accountability
Big Government Leads to Big Lobbying
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story today that Pennsylvania business groups – especially in natural gas, tobacco, and gambling industries – spent a lot of money lobbying during the…
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Competition will drive down electric rates
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Pennsylvania Voters Reject Property Tax Hikes
With an already-weakened economy that has put Pennsylvania families on a tight budget, Monroe County taxpayers finally said “enough is enough!” when confronted with two referendums on Tuesday’s ballot calling…
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Testimony on Proposed Pennsylvania High-Speed MagLev
Testimony of Randal O’Toole On the Proposed Pennsylvania High-Speed MagLev Before the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee, November 6, 2009…
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