Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher was indicted Thursday on misdemeanor charges alleging that his administration hired and fired state workers on the basis of politics, not qualifications.

The first Republican governor since 1971, Fletcher is the first Kentucky governor to be indicted. He entered office on a pledge to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in state government.

The charges: Criminal conspiracy, official misconduct in the first degree and violating the prohibition against political discrimination.