Matthew, 8, left, and Christopher, 10, Golden, of South Kingstown, just couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm for the voting process as their mom Karen while she voted at South Kingstown High School yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

SOUTH KINGSTOWN –—The Democratic wave that hit the state yesterday swept South Kingstown as well, with Democrats filling seven of eight open seats on the Town Council and School Committee. Voters returned Democratic incumbents President Mary S. “Polly” Eddy and Vice President Kathleen A. Fogarty to the Town Council, where they will be joined by former School Committee Chairwoman Ella M. Whaley and retired South Kingstown Police Capt. William J. Flatley, both Democrats, according to results from the state Board of Elections.

But voters opted for a little independence on the five-member council, too, reelecting James W. O’Neill to a fourth term. Known for his combative style, O’Neill, a persistent critic of school spending, had often allied with Councilwoman Cynthia Gleason, an independent who opted not to run again.

O’Neill, a registered Democrat who ran as an independent, aligned himself this campaign season with Republican candidates Andrew R. Bilodeau and Randal W. Brown. The three candidates billed their ticket as “Vote for BOB” and called for diversity on the council.

Bilodeau lost narrowly two years ago. This time he followed O’Neill by 783 votes. Brown is known largely as a leader of the Responsible Action Council, the political action committee behind the controversial $1.2-million school budget cut in 2004. Brown ranked in seventh place yesterday ahead of Republican and Economic Development Committee member William K. White; independent Mark F. Comstock, a lawyer who served on the Charter Review Committee; and first-term Democratic councilman Paul Tasich.

Tasich, a fiber-optic specialist and vocal advocate of affordable housing, was shadowed by his arrest in August for disorderly conduct. Some of his supporters sported white T-shirts at the polls proclaiming “Anyone but O’Neill.”

Democrats relished their victory at the Elks Club, regretting only that they didn’t take all five seats.

The results show “that we live in a great town, that great things are happening in town and that voters respond to a positive campaign,” said Democratic Town Committee chairman Brendan Fogarty, who is married to Kathleen Fogarty.

O’Neill had a slightly different perception, noting that he garnered more votes yesterday than two years earlier.

“[Voters] are pleased with my message without question,” said O’Neill from Casey’s Grill & Bar, where Republicans gathered. He expressed disappointment that Brown and Bilodeau wouldn’t be joining him on the council.

Cheryl Foster brought her 2-year-old daughter Caroline McCullough to the voting booth yesterday as an early civics lessons. Foster, who is generally Democratic leaning, wouldn’t disclose who she cast ballots for, but her comments proved revealing and mirrored the results.

“Some diversity of opinion on the Town Council is a good idea,” she said. Though she was “not impressed by the decorum” of minority members, she said she thought differing opinions were “a healthy thing.”

School Committee Vice Chairwoman Maureen Cotter retained her seat and will be joined on the seven-member board by fellow Democrats and first-time candidates Natalie Herbermann and Kevin M. Jackson

They defeated Republicans political newcomer Eric Creamer and John M. “Jack” Fay, a retired Providence school administrator and former Cumberland School Committee member, for the four-year terms.

An educational consultant, Cotter, was elected to the School Committee in 1998. Herbermann is a teacher at the Rhode Island Training School. Jackson a regional sales manager, was drawn into politics by the closure of South Road School.

South Kingstown has 19,673 registered voters. Of those 5,338 are listed as Democrats, with 2,924 Republicans and the remainder unaffiliated, according to the town clerk’s office. A total of 682 absentee ballots remain to be counted.