E-Mail This Article to a Friend SOMERVILLE Sole searching from Mayor-elect Curtatone BY SUSAN RYAN-VOLLMAR

Shortly after he made his acceptance speech as Somerville’s mayor-elect, Joe Curtatone took off one of his shoes and held it up for the crowd to see: the sole was worn through in parts. It was a moment of political theater, and the crowd loved it.

There were plenty of other such moments — not all of which took place on stage — at the Curtatone election-night party at Teele Square’s VFW Logan Post. There was Stan Koty, a former alderman and a long-time player in Somerville politics — most recently a member Dorothy Kelly Gay’s administration, though he quit to campaign for Curtatone — smoking a cigarette outside and joking to those around him, Bride of Chucky–style, "I’m baaaaack!"

There was State Senator Jarrett Barrios — one of the few progressive politicians in Somerville to endorse Curtatone — working the crowd like a machine. "I’m delighted that the real progressive won the mayor’s race in Somerville," he said. "It broke my heart that Dorothy [Kelly Gay] lost, but this guy is more than capable of filling her shoes."

And then there was Tony Lafuente, the losing candidate in the race, up on stage congratulating Curtatone and giving him a high-five. After a campaign that saw mudslinging on each side — from accusations of fraud to questions about residency requirements and the ubiquitous complaint of campaign-sign vandalism — it was an impressive sight.

Lafuente told the crowd that two weeks ago, before the two men held a debate at Jimmy Tingle’s theater in Davis Square, he said to Curtatone backstage: "You know, Joe, the city’s already won."

Time will tell how the city will fare: Curtatone faces a daunting task. Somerville’s budget must be balanced with less money from the state, development has to be jump-started at Assembly Square, and the police department needs an overhaul. Curtatone says he’s up for the job but that he needs to take care of some personal business before assuming office: "I’ve got to get a new pair of shoes."