The California Correctional Peace Officers Association had filed a notice of recall against Schwarzenegger and a proposed petition to circulate. (The petition was not approved, and the union had been expected to file a revised petition this week). Now a spokesman for the prison guards' union tells the AP there wasn't much point to the recall. Even it succeeded, Schwarzenegger would be removed from office only for the final lame-duck months of his term.

This is a smart move by the union. The governor, a strong foe of the union, not only would have survived a vote but also might have gained new political capital as a result.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Assn's petition to recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was filed late Monday, according to the Secretary of State's office. Now the secretary of state has to decide whether to approve the petition or send it back for revisions. The rules for such petitions and other information on recalls is available here.

Why would the prison guards' union seek to recall Gov. Schwarzenegger? A spokesman for the union has called Schwarzenegger the worst governor ever. And the union has been fighting him since the beginning of his administration over contract, working conditions, and the union's power in the prisons.

In my reporting today, however, sources inside and outside the union offered a little more context and another explanation for the recall: the internal politics of the union, the California Correctional Peace Offircers Association. Union president Mike Jimenez is running for re-election, and he faces several challengers. They have found plenty to complain about. The union has been working without a contract since 2006, which means no raise for members. Jimenez has drawn criticism from some members for entering into talks with inmate advocates on reforms to the system. One group of dissidents, calling themselves Officers for Change, is sharply critical of Jimenez on its web site. CCPOA's membership is hardline anti-governor. Is the recall threat simply an attempt by Jimenez to win guards' support for his own re-election?

We'll likely hear more about the upcoming union elections in the days ahead.

The governor and his aides are hitting back at the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. -- the prison guards' union -- for its threat to recall the governor. A union official says the group is beginning the process of gathering 65 signatures on a notice of recall.

 So far, the Schwarzenegger strategy is to accuse the guards of using the recall to seek a contract that the cash-strapped state can't afford. According to the Sacramento Bee, Schwarzenegger said today: "I will not be intimidated by anybody that is demanding more money than the state can afford and that demands deals more than the state is wanting to give. So the prison guard union is not going to intimidate me with their kind of action."

The idea behind such a response is to try to keep the issue narrow--and focused on the prison guards' contract. Schwarzenegger and his team need to prevent others with grievances against the governor -- just about every interest group in the state has been at odds with him at one time or another -- from joining up. This response makes the recall seem narrow and small. It hints at what should be the first battle -- a behind-the-scenes effort by the union to build a coalition in support of a recall, and by the governor to prevent such a coalition from forming.

Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, tells a Sacramento TV station that paperwork will be filed Monday.

California's powerful prison guards' union, which has warred with the state over its contract for years, is taking a " very hard look" at the idea of filing a petition to recall Gov. Schwarzenegger, a spokesman tells the San Francisco Chronicle. If the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. were to pursue the idea seriously, they'd likely get it on the ballot. The union has the power to pay signature gatherers. Whether this is a smart political move would be debatable.

There would be reason for Schwarzenegger to worry. He's unpopular with state voters, and the ongoing budget stalemate won't help his ratings. He's been on the wrong side of any number of interest groups who might love to exact some revenge And Schwarzenegger's celebrity -- a major factor in his winning election in the 2003 recall -- could draw support for a recall from folks who simply want attention. Recall the governor who won in a recall. It's irresistible.

The supporters of Prop 11, the California ballot initiative to change how legislative districts, have an uphill fight. Redistricting reform, however well-conceived, always loses in California because of opposition from Democratic and Republican partisans. But every time I approach 100 percent certainty that redistricting will fail again, Don Perata gives me pause.

No politician in California better represents the dysfunction, immaturity and just plain incompetence of the state's elected leadership. Perata has been under investigation by the FBI for his entire time in leadership. (No charges have been brought yet). He's been the person who blocked any number of bipartisan compromises that would advance public policy in the state, most notably on water and health care. And he has misled the public about his intentions to advance political reform, specifically redistricting reform. Again and again, he promised that he and the legislature would produce a redistricting measure. He never followed through.