Even as Gov. Gray Davis tries to negotiate a historic budget deal with Republicans, several GOP lawmakers are actively supporting an organized recall campaign that would remove him from office.

Assemblyman John Campbell, R-Irvine, vice chairman of the Budget Committee, has donated $10,000 to the campaign to gather the 900,000 signatures necessary to qualify the recall for the ballot. He also put his name on a fund-raising letter that ridicules Davis as the "worst governor in the history of the state. "

State Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas (Calaveras County), who donated $7,200 in cash to the recall effort, kicked in an additional $30,000 this week to pay for radio ads supporting the recall.

"I've heard people equate this to mutiny," Oller said. "Well, if you see a captain at the helm heading the ship to an iceberg and he doesn't change direction, mutiny ain't such a bad idea."

DAVIS SUPPORTERS REPLY
Davis supporters were quick to accuse them of poisoning the Capitol atmosphere as the state struggles with a $38.2 billion deficit.

"The reason elections are regularly scheduled is you have an election season and outside of that everyone rolls up their sleeves and gets the work done," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for Davis.

"By putting together this purely partisan recall, it creates unnecessary partisanship above and beyond what normally takes place."

Oller said he's not concerned about damaging the working relationship with Davis during budget negotiations. The governor needs six Assembly Republicans and two Senate Republicans to join Democrats and pass the budget by the required two-thirds vote.

'HE HAS NEVER WORKED WITH US'
"Why would that concern me? He has never worked with us thus far," Oller said. "What he has done is buy off a few weak-kneed Republicans that he can make some kind of deal with on the side."

The governor, whose approval ratings have sunk to an all-time low, has been more than a little distracted as he heads around the state. He publicly pleaded with legislators to rise to the "big moment" and work on a bipartisan solution to the state's budget woes.

"There's a little rain in everyone's life," he told The Chronicle editorial board Friday. "It seems to be pouring now."

But Davis moves into battle mode when pressed about the actions of three recall organizations, two of whom have hired professional signature gatherers in an effort to qualify the recall later this year.

'INSULT TO DEMOCRACY'
"I was elected fair and square, and Californians believe in fundamental fairness," he told The Chronicle, calling the move "an insult to democracy."

Of the Republican lawmakers involved in the effort to kick him out of town, Davis said: "People can do what they want. Voters hold all of us accountable for what they do."

Still, Davis' friends are also stepping up their efforts to undermine the recall campaign. A broad coalition of labor, teachers and religious leaders called Taxpayers Against the Recall began circulating their own anti-recall petitions around the state, and hired a professional signature gathering firm to remind voters of the estimated $35 million cost of the effort to unseat Davis.

COMPLAINT FILED
And Southern California attorney Raquelle de la Rocha, a Davis appointee on the state Parks and Recreation Commission, lodged a complaint Thursday with the Federal Election Commission questioning whether a main proponent of the recall -- GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista (San Diego County), who has declared his own gubernatorial campaign -- is violating federal contribution laws.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the most popular politician in California, according to the polls, distributed an opinion page piece urging Californians to ignore the recall.

"Tough decisions need to be made. . . . We don't need the distraction of a mean-spirited recall that will only divide our state further and make finding solutions that much more difficult," Feinstein wrote.

"What happens if the governor is recalled and those who have launched the current campaign don't like who wins? Will there be another recall? For all our sakes, I hope we don't go down this road. Too much is at stake. So, don't sign that recall petition."

FEINSTEIN ON THE SPOT
The recall effort has put Feinstein in an awkward position. Political insiders are already speculating that the senator could be easily elected to replace Davis -- and appoint her own successor to the U.S. Senate.

But speaking with The Chronicle this week, Feinstein insisted she has no such plans, although she acknowledged that she very much wanted the job at one time.

"Well, you don't always get what you want," said Feinstein, who ran for governor in 1990.

Recall supporters, who are divided into three groups working on the same petition, have until Sept. 2 to collect nearly 900,000 signatures from registered voters. Despite 31 attempts in state history, no recall has ever made the ballot.

QUESTIONS FOR VOTERS
Under state rules regarding a recall, voters would be asked two questions: Should Davis be removed from office, and who should replace him?

Any qualified candidate could put their name on the recall ballot. A special election would be called within 60 to 80 days of the signatures being verified, or on the March 2004 primary ballot, depending on what Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante decides.

The candidate with the most votes wins, which means someone could be elected to finish Davis' term with only a small percentage of the vote.

But Davis, speaking to The Chronicle, stubbornly wouldn't address such a possibility.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said. "All I can do is the job people asked me to do."