Benjamin and Williams, both black, claim they are always on the losing end of a 7-2 vote, which affects their ability to represent their constituents.

At a Jan. 17 council meeting, Benjamin said proposed changes to council meeting rules "would hinder his ability to represent his district."

But data compiled by The Daily Advertiser dispute the perceived 7-2 voting pattern.

A Daily Advertiser analysis of more than 200 votes cast by the council since Jan. 1 shows only five were 7-2 votes pitting Williams and Benjamin against the remainder of the council.

The pair were on the losing side of eight additional votes in which only one other councilman, usually Lenwood Broussard, voted with them.

When the vote was 9-1, Benjamin cast the lone vote five times and Williams cast the lone single vote twice.

Council Chairman Rob Stevenson said he's not surprised by the results and welcomes the federal scrutiny hinted at by Benjamin.

"I wish they would come in and go over this whole thing with a fine-toothed comb because the rest of the council bends over backward not to take it out on the constituents of Louis' and Chris' districts because we have problems with Louis and Chris," Stevenson said.

Williams also was not surprised by the findings. Overall, most resolutions and ordinances are approved unanimously, he said.

But on issues important to north Lafayette, to the black and to the poor, the votes are often 7-2 or 6-3, Williams said.

For instance, at a Jan. 17 meeting, an attempt by Benjamin and Williams to rename Willow Street after Martin Luther King Jr. failed by a 7-2 vote.

"It's hard for us to get people to vote in the affirmative for things that are solely a north side issue," Williams said.

Lately, the vote is often 6-3, with one councilman voting with Williams and Benjamin to avoid the appearance of a 7-2 split, he said.

Lafayette resident Shelby Williams, who attends most council meetings, sees a 7-2 voting pattern and has noticed it morph into a 6-3 pattern of late. He recalls one time when a councilman voted with Williams and Benjamin and sarcastically noted that it was not a 7-2 vote.

"There's seriously a pattern," he said. "I can see it."

Lafayette resident Lewis Kellogg, a regular at council meetings, said Williams and Benjamin bring issues to the council that "ask for a split" because the issues are not in the best interest of the entire city.

"Whenever they don't get what they want, they claim it's race. The things they bring up will bring on a race vote," Kellogg said.

Anytime the vote is against them, Williams and Benjamin claim it is a racial issue, a conspiracy or a north vs. south vote, Councilman Randy Menard said.

"I do not believe there's a conspiracy on this council to vote intentionally to oppose anything that Chris and Louis want," he said.

Menard, serving his final term on the council because of term limits, said he has seen the prevailing vote on the council shift through the years. Williams and Benjamin, also term-limited, find themselves no longer on the prevailing side and call it a conspiracy, he said.

"There's nothing to that other than in their minds," Menard said.

Benjamin could not be reached for comment.