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.”
420 N. Third Street: A New Beachhead for Freedom
Picture a state legislator—briefcase in hand, flanked by the media and legislative staff—descending the Capitol steps. This setting looks the same in all 50 states. Our legislator didn’t look out…
Commentary
Read More: 420 N. Third Street: A New Beachhead for Freedom
420 N. Third Street: A New Beachhead for Freedom
Picture a state legislator—briefcase in hand, flanked by the media and legislative staff—descending the Capitol steps. This setting looks the same in all 50 states. Our legislator didn’t look out…
Commentary
Read More: 420 N. Third Street: A New Beachhead for Freedom
50-State Labor Report: Pennsylvania Struggling on Worker Freedom
After the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision, a renewed battle for worker freedom has broken out across the country. The Commonwealth Foundation’s brand-new Worker Freedom in the States report…
Commentary
Read More: 50-State Labor Report: Pennsylvania Struggling on Worker Freedom
Educational Improvement Tax Credits Produce Future CEOs, Baroque Painters
Dani is a natural leader with a head for numbers; she’s a high school basketball player in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2018, her ship came in: she became…
Commentary
Read More: Educational Improvement Tax Credits Produce Future CEOs, Baroque Painters
Educational Improvement Tax Credits Produce Future CEOs, Baroque Painters
Dani is a natural leader with a head for numbers; she’s a high school basketball player in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2018, her ship came in: she became…
Commentary
Read More: Educational Improvement Tax Credits Produce Future CEOs, Baroque Painters
How My Union Trapped and Deceived Me
Being a clerk in one of Pennsylvania’s state-owned Fine Wine & Good Spirits shops is an enjoyable job. I have great co-workers, great customers, and sell great products. But the…
Commentary
Read More: How My Union Trapped and Deceived Me
How My Union Trapped and Deceived Me
Being a clerk in one of Pennsylvania’s state-owned Fine Wine & Good Spirits shops is an enjoyable job. I have great co-workers, great customers, and sell great products. But the…
Commentary
Read More: How My Union Trapped and Deceived MeState Budget
It Won’t Get Easier: Our Take on the State’s Five Year Outlook
Last week the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) presented its annual set of fiscal and economic projections for the next five years. The full report and summary presentation are available…
Media
Read More: It Won’t Get Easier: Our Take on the State’s Five Year OutlookRegulation
The O-Zone Hole
State and national governments sometimes designate “Economic Opportunity Zones,” geographic areas wherein they give tax breaks to incentivize investment. If opportunity zones are such a great idea, though, why not…
Media
Read More: The O-Zone HoleState Budget
Pennsylvania’s Overspending: A $1 Billion-Per-Year Disaster in the Making
November 15, 2019, Harrisburg, Pa. — A new report from the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office projects that state government will run annual deficits around $1 billion for…
Press Release
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Overspending: A $1 Billion-Per-Year Disaster in the MakingEducation
Tuition Scholarships for Harrisburg
With HB 1800, Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) wants to give parents the ability to escape Harrisburg schools without a permission slip from local officials.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Tuition Scholarships for HarrisburgState Budget
Pennsylvania Needs the Ramsey Method
High debt, reckless spending, and impending financial ruin. That description fits both Pennsylvania and budget guru Dave Ramsey’s life before he achieved financial stability. The Ramsey method has helped millions of…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania Needs the Ramsey MethodState Budget
Pa. Voters Support the Taxpayer Protection Act
Nearly 2/3rds of Pennsylvanians support the Taxpayer Protection Act.
Poll
Read More: Pa. Voters Support the Taxpayer Protection ActPublic Union Democracy
Pa. Voters Support the Employee Rights Notification Act
66% of voters support the Employee Rights Notification Act.
Poll
Read More: Pa. Voters Support the Employee Rights Notification ActEducation
Gov. Wolf Makes History by Signing PA GI Bill
On Veterans Day, we remember how much military service members sacrifice for the rest of us. Last week, Gov. Wolf gathered with military members and lawmakers to thank them…
Media
Read More: Gov. Wolf Makes History by Signing PA GI BillTaxes & Economy
Pennsylvania’s Business Climate is a Gamble for Entrepreneurs
60, 61, 29, 45! While these might sound like Powerball numbers, they are actually state rankings that highlight just how lucky businesses in Pennsylvania aren’t. Across different measurements of the state’s business…
Media
Read More: Pennsylvania’s Business Climate is a Gamble for EntrepreneursEducation
3 Charter School Facts Gov. Wolf Hopes You Won’t Notice
Pennsylvania charter schools are “wildly ineffective.” They produce “abysmal results.” They “aren’t moving the needle” on test results. If you believe the detractors, charter schools are worse than pointless.
Media
Read More: 3 Charter School Facts Gov. Wolf Hopes You Won’t NoticeEducation
Conscientious Objectors to Choice
Once again, the most vulnerable in our Commonwealth are in a battle without fully realizing it. That was clear to me during my testimony before the Pennsylvania Senate’s Education…
Media
Read More: Conscientious Objectors to ChoiceEducation
Betsy DeVos Touts Education Freedom Scholarships During Harrisburg Visit
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ visit to Harrisburg Catholic Elementary School in September was a great opportunity to highlight school choice in Pennsylvania and beyond. But most national media outlets that…
Media
Read More: Betsy DeVos Touts Education Freedom Scholarships During Harrisburg VisitHealth Care
The Administrative Cost of Community Engagement Requirements in Medicaid
This is the first in a series of policy briefs looking at the common objections to implementing community engagement requirements, or work expectations, for healthy adults receiving benefits under Medicaid…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Administrative Cost of Community Engagement Requirements in MedicaidRegulation
Sparks Fly Over Creating a Carbon Tax in Pa.
Walk outs, tin foil hats, and shouts from the audience characterized a tense House Energy and Environmental Resources hearing on Governor Wolf’s executive order to join the Regional…
Media
Read More: Sparks Fly Over Creating a Carbon Tax in Pa.