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NEW ORLEANS — Local businessman and former Zulu king Jay Banks remains the unofficial winner of the City Council District B seat.

The Secretary of State and the Clerk of Courts both had staffers at the voting machine warehouse on Chef Highway in New Orleans East Tuesday.

They were recounting votes for all of this weekend’s races, but they were closely evaluating the votes for the Distrct B City Council race, opening up more than 152 machines, checking print outs, re-certifying the votes.

The seat was left vacant when Councilwoman Latoya Cantrell decided to run for Mayor of New Orleans and won. Seth Bloom, a criminal justice lawyer, who served eight years on the Orleans Parish School Board, lost to Jay Banks, the commissioner of the Morial Convention Center who serves on multiple boards in the city.

The race was quite close, with Bloom losing by just 131 votes, according to early numbers.

Bloom posted on his Facebook page:

“If in fact, Jay Banks is our next council member, I will support him wholeheartedly and encourage all my supporters to do so as well. I owe it to you, however, as well as to all constituents in District B, to reevaluate the results because it was such a close count and due to reports of voter irregularities in some precincts.”

Jay Banks posted on his Facebook page about the close race, as well:

Every vote counts! You proved that today! Thank you!