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
What the Public Thinks of Public Schools
Paul Peterson has a good column in today’s Wall Street Journal about the public’s perception of public schools — they are (correctly in Peterson’s judgment) unerwhelmed by school’s performance,…
Media
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Whoops, We Were Wrong…
One of our goals at the Commonwealth Foundation is to predict the effect of proposed public policies. Most of the time, we are proven correct, and humbly announce, "We told…
Commentary
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Let’s Just Buy Everyone Flying Cars
The Patriot News reports on an insanely bad idea – taxpayer funded buses, then trains, from Lebanon to Hershey to Harrisburg. First the study, funded by the transportation industry…
Media
Read More: Let’s Just Buy Everyone Flying CarsGovernment Accountability
Pennsylvania Has Most Legislative Staff
Brad Bumsted had an article over the weekend on Pennsylvania’s largest in the nation legislative staff and, of course, the high cost of keeping that staff. The number of…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania Has Most Legislative StaffRegulation
Making a Bad Bill Worse
Following protests by policy and firefighter unions, the Pennsylvania House will delay a vote on HB 1828, the so-called municipal pension reform bill, likely until Thursday. House…
Media
Read More: Making a Bad Bill WorseState Budget
Governors in Glass Mansions …
When prompted on why Pennsylvania is now the only state in the nation without a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Governor Rendell was quick to pass the blame…
Media
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Tea Party Express Coming to Pennsylvania
The Tea Party Express will be hitting several cities in Pennsylvania this week, before heading to DC on September 12. The bus tour will be holding events in the…
Media
Read More: Tea Party Express Coming to PennsylvaniaRegulation
CF Analysis of Municipal Pension Bill
Commonwealth Foundation Senior Fellow Richard C. Dreyfuss – an actuary and former HR executive for Hershey Foods who is one of PA’s leading experts on state and municipal pensions presented…
Press Release
Read More: CF Analysis of Municipal Pension BillPublic Union Democracy
Happy Labor (Union Free) Day
Samuel Gompers, the father of the modern American labor union movement, once said, I want to urge devotion to the fundamental of human liberty-to the principles of voluntarism. No…
Media
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Pension Expert: Changes ‘Generational Theft’
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Self-preservation blocks Pennsylvania’s convention for change
Topics on this page Pennsylvania…
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House to delay vote on state pension takeover
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Cinema and the city: Movies are hot in Pittsburgh
Topics on this page Pittsburgh…
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Read More: Cinema and the city: Movies are hot in PittsburghRegulation
Electric Choice Working in Texas and Michigan
Natural gas is at a 7 year low and consumers who have electric choice are cashing in. In Texas, consumers can shop for rates 25-40% lower than what they…
Media
Read More: Electric Choice Working in Texas and MichiganRegulation
Pennsylvania’s Failed Economic Development Spending
State and local governments are locked in a constant competition to attract and retain businesses. Unfortunately, instead of addressing a poor business climate and flawed economic policies, they have increasingly…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Failed Economic Development SpendingRegulation
Economic Development Subsidies Fail
Today’s Wall Street Journal writes on the failure of taxpayer-funded “economic development” grants – i.e. corporate welfare – in the state of Michigan. The article relies heavily on…
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Ravenstahl pleads to delay state takeover of Pittsburgh’s pensions
Topics on this page Luke RavenstahlPittsburgh…
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No Correlation Between PA School District Spending and Performance
Tracie Mauriello of the Post-Gazette raises a source of dispute, via Twitter, on education spending vs. performance: pgPoliTweets: Rendell: Ed achievement is correlated to ed spending.
Media
Read More: No Correlation Between PA School District Spending and PerformancePublic Union Democracy
Tolling I-80 is a Recipe for Disaster
Once again, state lawmakers, bureaucrats and special interest groups are looking for another way to grab more money from Pennsylvanians. The latest rendition is tolling Interstate 80 across the northern…
Commentary
Read More: Tolling I-80 is a Recipe for DisasterEducation
What Does This Blog Post Inspire You to Do?
When I first heard of President Obama’s planned speech to all students, I didn’t think much of it. I imagined he’d say things like “Don’t do drugs! Stay in school!”…
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Read More: What Does This Blog Post Inspire You to Do?