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
Education Spending Goes Awry
The Easton Area School Board approved a reimbursement plan on Thursday that will be sent to the state Department of Education detailing more than $93 million spent to build…
Media
Read More: Education Spending Goes AwryState Budget
Tax Foundation Podcast: Pennsylvania Budget Battle
Matt Brouillette is interviewed in the latest Tax Policy Podcast from the Tax Foundation, giving an update of the Pennsylvania Budget Battle. Topics on this page…
Media
Read More: Tax Foundation Podcast: Pennsylvania Budget BattleState Budget
“Blue Dog” Democrats Still Against Pennsylvania Tax Increase
State Rep. John Pallone, one of Pennsylvania’s “Blue Dog” Democrats, has penned a statewide letter to the editor noting that he, along with about 20 other unnamed House Democrats, should…
Media
Read More: “Blue Dog” Democrats Still Against Pennsylvania Tax IncreaseEducation
The Faulty Premise of the Budget Impasse
Governor Rendell wants the taxpayers to spend more on public schools. So do Republicans in the General Assembly—nearly 12 percent more. Yet education funding remains a major obstacle in the…
Commentary
Read More: The Faulty Premise of the Budget ImpasseHealth Care
Why We Must Ration Health Care
In a New York Times piece, a bioethics professor defends rationing in health care, stating we have to do it. He uses a number of examples in which the…
Media
Read More: Why We Must Ration Health CareHealth Care
ObamaCare will Raise Costs and Taxes
The Director of the Congressional Budget Office warned that the “public option” and other items in Congressional Democrats’ health care proposals would cause health care costs to increase, not…
Media
Read More: ObamaCare will Raise Costs and TaxesTaxes & Economy
Obama Reverses On Stimulus Promises
The GOP has a pretty hard hitting video on Obama’s stimulus promises. First it shows Obama’s promises that the stimulus would have an “immediate impact” on creating jobs. Then…
Media
Read More: Obama Reverses On Stimulus PromisesState Budget
What Next for Pennsylvania State Budget?
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House passed HB 1416, a vehicle for the state budget. But that should not be taken to mean that Pennsylvania is much closer to having a…
Media
Read More: What Next for Pennsylvania State Budget?Government Accountability
Cost and Benefits of State Spending Transparency
The Mercatus Center has a new podcast on state online spending transparency. Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, discusses the need for spending transparency in states…
Media
Read More: Cost and Benefits of State Spending TransparencyTaxes & Economy
Job Losses are Never “Good News”
A number of media outlets, such as the AP, are reporting Pennsylvania’s June job losses of 3,400 with a positive spin, as in the “smallest monthly job loss…
Media
Read More: Job Losses are Never “Good News”Government Accountability
PA Ranks Low on Ethics Disclosure, Ask Bob Mellow
The Pennsylvania legislature got a “F” from the Center for Public Integrity in a national report on lawmakers disclosing information about assets, holdings or connections to special interests. In…
Media
Read More: PA Ranks Low on Ethics Disclosure, Ask Bob MellowEducation
PA School Districts Have $2.4 Billion in Reserves
New data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (released last week) show that school districts across the state have a combined $2.4 billion in General Fund reserves as of…
Media
Read More: PA School Districts Have $2.4 Billion in ReservesState Budget
Follow the Pennsylvania Budget Debate
The House of Representatives has begun debating the Pennsylvania state budget (HB 1416) likely to continue today and tomorrow. For live updates, you can follow the Commonwealth Foundation…
Media
Read More: Follow the Pennsylvania Budget DebateState Budget
Can Gov. Rendell Pay State Workers?
KDKA TV has a story about how legislative staffers are being paid during the Pennsylvania budget impasse, with the angle that it is unfair to other state workers (who…
Media
Read More: Can Gov. Rendell Pay State Workers?Regulation
Will Early Retirement Incentives Save PA Money, or Cost More?
Among the proposal of Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner to help balance the state budget without a tax increase. But Commonwealth Foundation Senior Fellow Rick Dreyfuss suggests this is…
Media
Read More: Will Early Retirement Incentives Save PA Money, or Cost More?Government Accountability
Will Fumo Conviction Deter Public Corruption?
Alex Charyna mocks Governor Rendell’s ridiculous statement that Sen. Vince Fumo (sentenced to 55 months in prison, or about 12 days for each felony conviction), should only spend…
Media
Read More: Will Fumo Conviction Deter Public Corruption?Health Care
Federal Government, M.D.
President Obama’s $1.5 trillion health care plan would make health insurance a “right” for all Americans. The proposed plan empowers the federal government to ensure that employers provide insurance…
Media
Read More: Federal Government, M.D.
Who is Blogging on CF
Here are some recent blogs linking to, quoting, or citing the Commonwealth Foundation in the past week: PA WaterCooler links to our post on the Auditor General’s solutions to…
Media
Read More: Who is Blogging on CFState Budget
Pennsylvania House Democrats Budget, By the Numbers
As we have done with Gov. Rendell’s proposed budget, the Senate passed budget, and the House GOP proposed budget amendment, here is a breakdown of the proposed…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania House Democrats Budget, By the Numbers
Time to End Direct Higher Education Subsidies
Harrisburg, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation applauds the Pennsylvania House Democrats’ proposed elimination of higher education funding in the state budget, forcing lawmakers to re-examine the state’s role in funding…
Press Release
Read More: Time to End Direct Higher Education Subsidies
Pennsylvania’s Flawed Film Tax Credit
HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation today released Pennsylvania’s Flawed Film Tax Credit: What the ERA study won’t tell you, a policy brief by economists and adjunct scholars Pavel Yakovlev…
Press Release
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Flawed Film Tax Credit