The Colorado Republican Party has appointed veteran campaign numbers guy Tom Bjorklund as its treasurer, state GOP Chairman Dave Williams announced Friday.

Williams, who won election last month to the party leadership position, credited 2022 congressional nominee Erik Aadland, the second-place finisher in the chair election, with suggesting Bjorklund for the job.

“On behalf of our state party, and in a spirit of unity, I want to personally thank Erik Aadland for elevating Tom’s name for this role while giving Erik credit for identifying such a highly qualified individual to serve in this capacity,” Williams said in an email to GOP supporters.

Bjorklund was Aadland’s campaign treasurer last cycle, when the political newcomer lost a bid to represent the Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District to Democrat Brittany Pettersen, a former state senator from Lakewood.

Based in Grand Junction, Bjorklund has kept the books for numerous candidates and conservative causes over nearly 20 years, including for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ unsuccessful bid for secretary of state last year and for former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo when he ran for governor.

It’s the first official hire Williams has made since taking over as chair from Kristi Burton Brown, who declined to seek a second term running the party.

“Right now no one’s drawing a salary, no one’s drawing a paycheck, including myself, until we can get our legs under us and get income in the door,” Williams told Colorado Politics.

He said he’s anxious to revamp the state party’s financial operations, calling it “a fixer-upper opportunity.”

Williams said he doesn’t plan to spend as much on salaries, outside vendors and legal retainer fees as his predecessor, instead putting the money into field operations and Republican campaigns.

“We’ll consider all of our options,” he said. “The one change we’re going to absolutely implement is we’re going to cut back on these overhead costs that I’m seeing.”

Added Williams: “I’m looking at it and, well, this is a part of the puzzle we need to solve. If we don’t have enough money going into the field trying to elect Republicans, that is of course a data point showing why we’re not as successful as we should be.”

Colorado Republicans are attempting to rebound after a string of losses in recent elections, including losing every statewide race on the ballot last year, losing the state’s new congressional seat and losing ground in the legislature to Democrats, who hold larger majorities than at any time in nearly 100 years.

Williams said he’s considering how to “completely revamp the organizational chart,” potentially taking a page from the business world and structuring party activity around paid and volunteer project-managers.

“People will be fairly compensated but nobody’s going to get rich,” he said. “Our goal is to be a lean, mean operation, where donor dollars are being used to directly elect Republicans.”

Earlier this month, Weston Imer, who managed his mother Laurel Imer’s congressional campaign last year – she lost in the primary to Aadland – started work at the state party as an unpaid intern, Williams said.

Williams added that he’s “mapping out” roles for two of the other Republicans who ran for chair last month – former state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, and Douglas County activist Aaron Wood.

Peters, who is under felony indictment on charges related to allegations she helped breach her county’s secure election equipment, also ran for state chair and endorsed Williams before the final ballot, but Williams told Colorado Politics earlier this month she likely won’t have a role with the GOP.