Ex-topless dancer is elected to the bench

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

A former prosecutor who worked as a topless dancer at a Las Vegas strip club to help put herself through college was elected Tuesday night to the Municipal Court bench in Henderson.

Diana Hampton, 39, the top vote getter in the April primary, received 51 percent of the vote in defeating Michael Miller, a Henderson Municipal and Justice Court pro tem judge, by 176 votes -- 4,193 to 4,017. She took 51 percent of the vote to 49 percent for Miller.

Miller, 54, had the backing of former Police Chief Michael Mayberry, Mayor Jim Gibson and the mayor's nephew, David Gibson Jr., who finished third in the April primary.

Backed by Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers and the Henderson Police Officers Association, Hampton was elected to a six-year term for the job that pays $109,497 a year. She said she was overwhelmed by her victory and called it a special moment in her life.

"I feel in my heart that if you really believe in yourself, there is nothing you can't accomplish," Hampton said. "I am so elated and happy that the voters in the city of Henderson had faith in me. I am not going to let them down."

In April, Hampton captured 34 percent of the vote in besting three other candidates, including Miller who had 26.8 percent. Miller is a former Clark County public defender.

Hampton admitted during the campaign that she worked seven years at Cheetahs strip club, starting as a topless dancer in 1991 when she earned $1,000 a week. She said she worked the last six years as a bartender at the club until she graduated with a bachelor's degree from UNLV in 1997.

Hampton said her work history shouldn't be an issue in the race. She said she came from a poor family and pursued the job as a stripper to help pursue her education.

Hampton said she doesn't know if the revelations about her past affected the race. She added she doesn't know how the issue will follow her career but will accept whatever comes.

"It doesn't bother me," Hampton said. "It is a fact of life. It will always be there. I hope it eventually dies out, but if it doesn't, that's how it goes."

Miller took in $44,000 in contributions since the primary, well ahead of the $12,849 raised by Hampton. She had taken in $32,000 for the campaign compared to just under $78,000 for Miller.

Hampton said her grass-roots campaign helped overcome Miller's fund-raising advantage over her.

During the campaign, Miller touted his 30 years as an attorney compared to five for Hampton as the reason he should be elected. He called his narrow loss disappointing.

Miller said he will continue to serve as a judge pro tem, and that likely means filling in for Hampton when she is on vacation.

"I think she will be fine," Miller said. "She is elected and that's what the people wanted."

Municipal Court judges preside over misdemeanor trials dealing with such offenses as domestic battery, DUI and minor drug offenses.

The city created a third court to handle a growing number of cases.

Several Henderson voters, including Miller supporters, said Hampton's past didn't affect their votes. Others said they were unaware of the issue but added that it wouldn't have affected their decision anyway.

"She had the enough courage to admit it and come forward," said one Hampton supporter, a man who didn't want to give his name. The man said, however, he had already planned on supporting Hampton because as a woman she has more compassion.

One woman voter who supported Miller said she knew nothing of Hampton's past. She said she backed Miller because of his support from the Henderson Police Supervisors Association.

"We have all done a lot of dumb things in our college years," the Miller supporter said. "It's not like she murdered anybody."

Voting results for Henderson were not finalized until 9:30 p.m. because of an accident on U.S. 95 near Boulder Highway that delayed the delivery of tallies from polling places. Results would have been completed at least 30 minutes earlier, said Henderson City Clerk Monica Simmons.