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
How innovative education can help Pennsylvania’s economy
Originally published in the Bucks County Courier Times Over two years after Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown of all “non-life-sustaining business,” Pennsylvania’s economy still struggles to recover. Pennsylvania has …
Media Hit
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Pennsylvania’s next governor will face a looming budget deficit
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer In 2019-2020, over 75,000 kids in Pennsylvania were denied a chance to leave their failing schools. Now there will be 30,000 fewer,…
Media Hit
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Let’s Put Pennsylvania Back on Track
Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania Pennsylvanians want better. Nearly 70% of voters believe that the commonwealth is “seriously” heading in the wrong direction. Worse yet, new polling shows…
Media Hit
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Gov. Wolf’s legacy: lost lives, livelihoods, and abandoning the vulnerable
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer During the last state budget of his term, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wants to cement his legacy. It’s Pollyannaish for our governor to…
Media Hit
Read More: Gov. Wolf’s legacy: lost lives, livelihoods, and abandoning the vulnerableEducation
Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion Big Win for Waitlisted Pennsylvania Kids, Amid Growing Demand
July 8, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. – The Pennsylvania legislature increased educational opportunities for Pennsylvania children, especially those from low- and middle-income homes, by including a $125 million expansion for tax…
Press Release
Read More: Tax Credit Scholarship Expansion Big Win for Waitlisted Pennsylvania Kids, Amid Growing DemandState Budget
PA Budget: Unsustainable spending, some big wins
July 7, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today passed a state budget plan that exceeds Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal by $300 million, with ongoing spending…
Press Release
Read More: PA Budget: Unsustainable spending, some big winsState Budget
What to know about the 2022 state budget deal
Pennsylvania lawmakers today unveiled the next fiscal year’s state budget plan. The Bad News: This budget represents excessive growth in government spending, increasing state spending by 10.7 percent over last…
Memo
Read More: What to know about the 2022 state budget dealHealth Care
Medicaid’s Endless Expansion
Key Points Medicaid enrollment has surged, increasing by more than one million since 2015.[1] The program now covers more than one-quarter of all Pennsylvanians.Medicaid is the largest program…
Backgrounder
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Pennsylvania schools have a hoarding problem
Originally published in The Mercury “Pennsylvania has been chronically underfunding school districts for decades,” according to school board member Jackie Huff. That is a common claim by politicians —…
Media Hit
Read More: Pennsylvania schools have a hoarding problemEducation
Pennsylvania Senators Must Defy Teachers’ Unions to Offer Lifeline Scholarships to Students in Failed Districts
Originally published at Broad + Liberty Before this year’s elections, Pennsylvania state senators will have the opportunity to return taxpayer dollars to parents and students victimized by perpetually failing…
Media Hit
Read More: Pennsylvania Senators Must Defy Teachers’ Unions to Offer Lifeline Scholarships to Students in Failed DistrictsEducation
Scholarship bill is a lifeline for kids
Originally published at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pennsylvania has become a battleground for educational freedom and choice. Parents from diverse perspectives are showing up at school board meetings, filing lawsuits,…
Media Hit
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Teacher Union Collective Bargaining Agreements 4 Years Post-Janus
On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. The court ruled that public-sector employees no longer had to financially support a…
Memo
Read More: Teacher Union Collective Bargaining Agreements 4 Years Post-JanusEducation
Pennsylvania School Funding
Topics on this pageEducational equityPennsylvaniaPennsylvania Department of EducationPublic educationSchool financeTemple University+1 more…
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pennsylvania School FundingState Budget
Commonwealth Foundation Warns Governor: Don’t Inflate the Budget
June 22, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — The Commonwealth Foundation today urged Pennsylvania state legislators to resist Gov. Tom Wolf’s efforts to “inflate the budget” in the face of skyrocketing inflation ravaging Pennsylvanians’…
Press Release
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Warns Governor: Don’t Inflate the BudgetEducation
Pa. Senate Committee Passes Lifeline Scholarships
June 21, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. —Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee approved a bill to extend Lifeline Scholarships to students in underperforming school districts. House Bill 2169, sponsored by…
Press Release
Read More: Pa. Senate Committee Passes Lifeline ScholarshipsState Budget
2022 Pa. Budget Checklist
Limit Spending to Help Pennsylvanians Cope with Inflation Record inflation caused by federal overspending is hitting Pennsylvanians hard. Inflation is up 8.6 percent from last year and…
Fact Sheet
Read More: 2022 Pa. Budget ChecklistTaxes & Economy
Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate Action to Reduce Corporate Net Income Tax
Harrisburg, Penn. – The Commonwealth Foundation today commended the Pennsylvania Senate’s passage of two bills that would reduce Pennsylvania’s corporate net income (CNI) tax. With the second-highest CNI tax rate in…
Press Release
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate Action to Reduce Corporate Net Income TaxEducation
Excellent Education Isn’t for the Select Few
Originally published in The Philadelphia Citizen Recent controversy over admission standards for Philadelphia’s selective schools made me think of my wife’s journey to attend Masterman when it…
Media Hit
Read More: Excellent Education Isn’t for the Select FewTaxes & Economy
Good luck taxing the rich when they’re gone
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer Widespread shortages. Economic tumult. Disappearing businesses. When Ayn Rand released her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, in 1957, her critics considered it a work…
Media Hit
Read More: Good luck taxing the rich when they’re goneEducation
Pa. Education Spending Soars to All-Time High
Key Points Pennsylvania school district spending per student increased to $19,900 in 2020–21.State support of public education is up 40 percent over the last decade, reaching an all-time high of…
Backgrounder
Read More: Pa. Education Spending Soars to All-Time HighRegulation
Pa. House Committee Passes Liquor Privatization Bill
June 8, 2022, Harrisburg, Pa. — Wednesday, the Pennsylvania House Liquor Control Committee passed a bill that would end state control of liquor sales. House Bill 2272, sponsored by…
Press Release
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