Clements campaign manager resigns; overhaul expected By ARNOLD I IANIII:yON Austin Bureau D 5 -(4 .-gt, AUSTIN — Only 12 days after William P. Clements' landslide Re- publican pr Unary victory, his elec- tion team has undergone a major shake-up culminating Thursday in the resignation of the campaign's top official, Ed Cassidy. GOP sources also said Clements' Central Texas campaign director, George Mn, has quit, enabling the former governor to overhaul his political machine as he focuses his efforts on unseating Democratic Gov. Mark White. Clements spokesman Reggie Ba- shur confirmed the personnel changes hind occurred, but he de- clined to elaborate. Clements was in New York on personal business and could not be reached for comment. Cassidy's resignation as cam- paign manager came after weeks of speculation that he would be re- placed because of personality con- flicts with other staff members and Clements supporters. But two top Clements associates tried to dispel reports that Cassidy had been forced out, praising him for helping Clements get 58 per- cent of the primary vote against two well-financed opponents. Former Rep. Ililary Doran, who traveled with Clements throughout the primary, and Dallas real estate executive Dary Stone both de- scribed Cassidy as a valuable asset to the campaign. "But it's natural for there to be changes," Doran said. "The life ex- pectancy of a campaign manager is pretty limited sometimes. It's the rule rather than the exception that at least once in a campaign, you change campaign managers." Doran and Stone, both of whom serve on the campaign's executive committee, said they did not ex- pect decisions on replacements for Cassidy and May until at least Monday when the Clements leadership gathers in Dallas for its next meeting. Cassidy, 31, did not return phone calls Thursday, but issued a state- ment saying he was "proud of the campaign we ran in the primary, and grateful to Gov. Clements for asking me to play a part in it." GOP sources said Clements, seeking to regain the governorship he lost to White four years ago, plans to hire a campaign manager with deeper Texas roots and stron- ger personal ties to the former governor. Cassidy, a former National Re- publican Congressional Committee legislative director, had never worked a Texas campaign before he was hired by Clements. Among those believed under consideration to replace Cassidy are Doran; Stone, who served as campaign manager for part of the 1982 campaign; direct mail consul- tant Karl Rove of Austin; former congressional candidate Tom Pau- ken of Dallas; former White House political director Ed Rollins, and Clements' current deputy cam- paign manager, Beth Barnes. Both Doran and Stone, however, said they did not expect to be of- ' fered the position, which likely , will be filled before the Clements campaign relocates its operation in., Austin On July 1.