California ? Former Gov. Pete Wilson urged his fellow Republicans on Saturday not to make light of a recall drive against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He told delegates at the California Republican Party’s fall convention that they should take the threat from the state prison guards union seriously, even if it isn’t likely to succeed.

“I hope that I don’t have to tell you what an ill-considered idea that is. We did it once; we did not do it lightly,” he said, referring to the 2003 recall of former Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, an election that sent Schwarzenegger to Sacramento. “It is something that should not be taken lightly. It is an extreme measure.”

A conservative wing of the state GOP had planned to vote later Saturday on whether to endorse the recall campaign but instead decided to further investigate the effort first.