LEWISBORO, N.Y. – While the election results are still not official, Lewisboro Supervisor Charles Duffy (R, C) appears to be trailing by an insurmountable margin of more than 200 votes. To prepare for the likely scenario that he won’t be re-elected, Duffy met with his challenger Peter Parsons (D, I, Working Families) over the Veterans Day weekend to prepare for the transition of administrations.

Both men said that neither is claiming victory or admitting defeat at this point, but getting together to discuss the transition seemed like the prudent thing to do.

“Charlie has been explaining the management aspects of the job,” Parsons said. “It’s 95 percent non-political. It’s about sitting down and running the town and it’s unrelated to elections. He’s been extremely helpful and I’m grateful for the help. It will make me a better supervisor.”

Duffy said he felt the meeting was in the best interests of the town. “As in any position, a smooth transition is essential,” he said. “It’s what a professional does. I think Peter has a great opportunity to get a jump on what is a very steep learning curve.”

Some of the main points of town business that the two discussed were labor negotiations, the intricacies of contracts, the number of contracts and the history of their development.

Duffy and the town board are currently in the throes of preparing next year’s budget, which may have some cutbacks. Parson said he needs to understand the numbers.

“Everyone who works for the town wants to do their best job,” Parsons said. “They’re good people. But the supervisor is often the bearer of bad news. You have to add all the figures and try to make it work.”

Duffy said balancing compensation levels helps to avoid inter-departmental disputes and that Parsons needs to have a good understanding of it all before taking charge.

“It’s very useful,” Parsons said of Duffy’s tutorial. “You have to master the administrative part of the job before you can get to your ‘To-Do’ list.”

Duffy said Parsons’ first task will be the budget and integrating it into the process. Then he must look at the issues his administration has been working on  and see where everything stands at this point.

Parsons pointed out that Duffy still remains on the job and will continue to govern the town until 2012 rolls around.

“Charlie is the supervisor until midnight on Dec. 31,” he said. “He runs the town until then. Everything he’s doing today is pure courtesy.”

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