Independent candidate Nick Shalek ’05 was elected Ward 1 alderman this evening, in a surprise upset over sitting Democratic Alderwoman Rebecca Livengood ’07.

Over eight hundred voters turned out for the election, an unusually high percentage of the 1,855 registered voters in Ward 1, city and elections officials said. The unofficial result announced at the 8 p.m. poll closing gave Shalek 431 votes to Livengood’s 373, a spread of 58 votes in Shalek’s favor.

Shalek, who ran as an independent although he said he identifies as a moderate Democrat, ran on a platform of fostering increased economic development in the city.

Please check Wednesday’s edition of the Yale Daily News for more complete coverage of Shalek’s victory and a roundup of other local election results.