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
Teacher Strike Capitol of America
Pennsylvania is the teacher strike capital of America. Since 1999, Pennsylvania families have suffered through 131 strikes, affecting 300,000 students and causing 1,383 missed school days. This research, including county,…
Press Release
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Welfare Reform is Sweeping the Nation
“Right now, America combines near-record-low unemployment with near-record-high welfare dependency — the result of state-level eligibility exemptions, federal loopholes and policies that put work on the back burner.” Those are…
Media
Read More: Welfare Reform is Sweeping the NationEducation
Answering Questions About ESAs
Education Savings Accounts (ESA) allow parents to customize and personalize their child's education. With an ESA, parents withdraw their child from the local public school and instead receive money from…
Media
Read More: Answering Questions About ESAsTaxes & Economy
The Dignity of Work in Rural Pennsylvania
The Brockway Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) is only five years old, but it has helped over 100 unemployed and underemployed Pennsylvanians find fulfilling and family-sustaining healthcare careers.
Media
Read More: The Dignity of Work in Rural PennsylvaniaRegulation
Solving Pa.’s Corporate Welfare Problem is Key to Tax Reform
Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal projects a small reduction in corporate welfare spending. When compared to the current budget, spending would decline by more than $26 million. However,…
Media
Read More: Solving Pa.’s Corporate Welfare Problem is Key to Tax ReformPublic Union Democracy
Pa. Leads the Nation in Teacher Strikes
This report compares Pennsylvania's strike laws to other states, and highlights the impact on teachers and students.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Pa. Leads the Nation in Teacher StrikesTaxes & Economy
House Passes Work-Promoting Medicaid Reform
Today, the state House passed legislation, HB 2138, promoting independence among healthy, adult Medicaid recipients by requiring them to find part-time work or engage in job training to continue receiving…
Press Release
Read More: House Passes Work-Promoting Medicaid ReformPublic Union Democracy
4 Facts on Pennsylvania Teacher Strikes
Between the nearly averted strike in Pittsburgh and statewide strikes in West Virginia and Oklahoma, the validity of teacher strikes is once again up for debate. Here are four facts…
Media
Read More: 4 Facts on Pennsylvania Teacher StrikesRegulation
Pull the Reins on Horse Racing Subsidies
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, unless it's a Pennsylvania racehorse—then it's the symbol of government waste and an industry in decline. (Is that how this…
Media
Read More: Pull the Reins on Horse Racing SubsidiesState Budget
People Everywhere Just Want to Be Free (Of Taxes)
Pennsylvanians work nearly four months a year just to pay the taxes imposed at the various levels of government. This is just one of the many findings in the Tax…
Media
Read More: People Everywhere Just Want to Be Free (Of Taxes)
Janus v. AFSCME Resources
Media Clips Greg Hartnett, Fairness Center client and lead plaintiff, Hartnett v. PSEA: Court should free teachers from forced unionism Despite the trust given to me during my 19 years…
Commentary
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House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare Reform
Lawmakers took a significant step towards strengthening human service programs today. The House Health Committee passed HB 2138 with bipartisan support to restore the dignity of work for people…
Media
Read More: House Takes Step Towards Transformative Welfare ReformEducation
Empowering Parents of Students with Special Needs
Friends thought Dorothy Famiano was nuts when she decided to adopt two toddlers with special needs. She didn’t listen to the naysayers. Today Nicholas, who is confined to a…
Media
Read More: Empowering Parents of Students with Special NeedsEducation
Taxpayer Funds Used to Lobby Against Educational Choice
All Pennsylvania students deserve quality educations. For kids with unmet educational needs, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) provide access to the opportunities many of their peers already enjoy. Yet, instead…
Media
Read More: Taxpayer Funds Used to Lobby Against Educational ChoiceState Budget
How to Craft a Responsible Budget
Under Gov. Wolf, total state spending has risen by nearly $5.3 billion. This includes more than $2.9 billion in new General Fund spending—a sum exceeding the combined spending increases of…
Media
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welfare infographic
Bipartisan federal welfare reform in 1996 promoted independence by keeping people engaged in the workforce. Healthy adults were limited to 3 months of cash assistance benefits unless they worked 20…
Media
Read More: welfare infographicHealth Care
What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?
Pennsylvania's welfare system focuses on how much one needs to “get by” or how many different services and programs one can qualify for. These are well-intentioned attitudes that stem from…
Media
Read More: What’s the Goal of Welfare Reform?Public Union Democracy
Gov. Wolf Receives $8 Million from Government Union PACs
As the 2018 election season gains momentum, Governor Wolf’s campaign friends are ramping up their financial support–and Pennsylvania taxpayers have helped them. Since his first campaign in 2013, Governor Wolf…
Media
Read More: Gov. Wolf Receives $8 Million from Government Union PACsEnergy
The State of Natural Gas in Pa.
Pennsylvania’s regulatory and tax environment is stunting job growth and deterring investment. A decade after the Marcellus Shale boom, lawmakers are still debating how to tax the industry instead of…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The State of Natural Gas in Pa.Government Accountability
The Call for Contract Transparency Continues
An ABC27 special investigation asks a simple question: “Would you pay a bill before you saw it?” Most people would answer with a resounding no. Yet, as the report highlights, that’s exactly…
Media
Read More: The Call for Contract Transparency ContinuesEducation
Philly Exodus Spells the Need for School Choice
Philadelphia’s population is growing. In fact, Philly’s population has grown for 11 consecutive years according to the U.S. Census Bureau and highlighted recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Population growth…
Media
Read More: Philly Exodus Spells the Need for School Choice