The spokesman for California Correctional Peace Officers Association said this week that the powerful prison guards union would drop its efforts to recall Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CCPOA spokesman Lance Corcoran told the Associated Press late Thursday that the 30,000-member strong union would not re-submit recall petition paperwork to the Secretary of State's office bringing to an end one of the larger pre-election political dramas of 2008.

Last week the Secretary of State's office rejected the union's petition paperwork, saying that it was inadequately prepared and did not contain Schwarzenegger's written response to the recall effort.

 CCPOA leaders launched the recall effort in frustration over a lack of a contract with the state.

"The reality is the recall process would only remove this governor for six or seven months and the resources of California and the CCPOA need to be reprioritized on issues and candidates that actually benefit California," Corcoran told the AP.

Schwarzenegger, through a spokeswoman said the whole effort amounted to nothing more than a distraction.

We thought all along that all this talk of recall was unproductive. California is facing some serious challenges and the governor is focused on finding solutions to meet them," spokeswoman Julie A. Soderlund said.