Knapp, the son of a former Los Gatos town manager and current Cupertino City Manager David Knapp, is the first to admit he's got much to learn about large-scale government, but views his lack of a political background as a plus.

"I'm a regular guy ... I'm intelligent, but I'm not tainted by politics," said Knapp, a senior laser engineer with Coherent Inc. in Santa Clara.

"We're going to try to get the word out that I'm a common-sense guy, and that I should be elected for a common-sense government," he said.

Knapp's small campaign committee includes his wife, Laura Culberson Knapp, and a few friends who are helping to get the word out that he is eyeing the governor's seat.

"I know he has what it takes to take on something like this. He's very keyed into political issues. He could make a career out of this," Culberson Knapp said.

Aspirations of a political career began brewing in Knapp's mind only when he considered the alternatives to having Gray Davis remain as governor, he said.

"I realized there's not another candidate there that I really liked. And then I realized, 'OK, if there's nobody that I like, what am I going to do about it?' " said Knapp, who graduated from the first Leadership Los Gatos class in 2002. Leadership Los Gatos aims to acquaint participants with their local government and community organizations and to develop leadership skills.

David Knapp backs his son's decision.

"Clearly the state government is in trouble. I'm just glad my son wants to do something about it," he said.

A registered Republican, Knapp said his views are moderate and "very middle of the road."

"I'm down to earth. I've traveled widely. I know how things work," he said. "With a moderate person, who's a regular person, in a leadership position, I think a lot of people can agree with my views."

As for the estimated $53 to $66 million it will cost the state to hold the historic recall election, Knapp acknowledges that sometimes there are undesired costs associated with democracy, but "that's the way the law's written."

"Democracy is not necessarily a pretty thing. It has its ugly edges. This is pretty ugly," he said. "I think we've all given our thumbs up to the law, and here it is being exercised. The cost is part of that."

While Knapp has decided to throw his name into the gubernatorial race, he continues to work at Coherent Inc. Prior to joining the Silicon Valley company, Knapp taught high-school physics and math in Fiji as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1994 to 1996. He has also worked as a firefighter in Colorado's Boulder County and was captain of a four-person ambulance unit at the University of the South in Tennessee, where he attended college.

Knapp said that over the next several weeks, he plans to map out his stances on all issues facing Californians.

"I would really like to see California have top-notch government and top-notch leadership," he said.