COVENTRY — Cheers erupted from the packed Republican headquarters tonight as candidates snagged three out of four seats from Town Council Democrats, marking the first time in nearly two decades which the GOP will hold a majority.

“We did it! We did it,” said a very hoarse GOP Town Committee chairman Charles Vacca, as he hugged former Councilman Greg Laboissonniere.

Not since 1985 have Republicans dominated the five-member panel. But Republicans have had a presence on the council, most recently with Councilman Kenneth L. Cloutier, who ran for his second term unopposed.

Councilman Frank Hyde in District 3 is the only Democrat to retain his seat. Hyde, who is being investigated by the state Ethics Commission over allegations that he failed to report business debts on his yearly disclosure statement, won handily over his opponent, Joel Johnson.

Reached by telephone tonight, Hyde said, “I hope my fellow Republicans continue in the same conservative mind-set and continue to reduce taxes, and we can continue to work together as team,” he said.

In District 1, School Committee Chairman Raymond E. Spear had the biggest win of the night, soundly beating council President Justin A. Pomfret. In District 2, Laura Flanagan trounced the youthful Anthony Colaluca. In District 4, Glenn Shibley, a former councilman, won over Harold Trafford, who replaced Bruce Thompson on the Democratic ticket. Thompson resigned from the council in September, citing health issues.

Inside GOP headquarters on Sandy Bottom Road tonight, euphoric party members gleefully watched results trickle in from poll runners.

“I think this is very good for the people in our district,” Flanagan said. “I look forward to being their voice on the council.”

Spear, 77, who made the leap from the School Committee to the council, is a veteran educator who served as Coventry’s superintendent from 1980 to 1996.

“I think we’ve got a good team,” Spear said. “I think we can do some darn good things for this community.”

In Coventry there are 747 mail-in ballots.

In other contested races, independent candidate Lisa P. Tomasso beat Democrat Michael Reeves for the District 5 seat. Reeves, a former School Committee who lost to Republican Donna Hayden 2006, had been appointed to the board on an interim basis to fill the seat vacated by her in June. With 2½ years left in her term, Hayden stepped down, citing health issues.

lsparks@projo.com