Thursday, May 19, 2005 | 10:58 a.m.
The leading candidate for the newly created Henderson Municipal Court judgship said she worked for a year as a topless dancer at a Las Vegas strip club to put herself through college in the early 1990s.
Diana Hampton, 39, said 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 strip club until she graduated with a bachelor's degree from UNLV in 1997.
Hampton, who in February stepped down as a prosecutor in the Henderson city attorney's office to run for judge, was the leading vote getter among four candidates in the April primary. She will square off June 7 against Michael Miller in the general election.
Hampton was open in talking about her past, saying she expected the information would ultimately come out. She said she didn't regret her choice because she came from a poor family and the job helped her pursue her education. She said it shouldn't be an issue in the campaign.
"I wish I could have grown up with parents who could have put me through school, but that was not the hand I was dealt," Hampton said. "If I was a pizza delivery person, we wouldn't even be talking about this. It shouldn't be an issue in the sense it happened 13 to 14 years ago.
"If anything, it gave me a greater outlook on life. I didn't grow up in a shell or in a vacuum. I grew up in real life. If people want to see something in where I worked 13 to 14 years ago, that is their call. I would hope if they have any questions, they talk with me regarding this issue."
Hampton said her father left home when she was 2 or 3 and her mom worked various casino jobs, including dealing blackjack. She didn't graduate from high school -- she declined to comment on that part of her life -- and later earned a general equivalency diploma and decided to pursue college.
After being out of work for several months in 1991, she said she finally decided to work as a stripper at Cheetahs because of the money she could earn.
"When you are 23 or 24 years old and do not have any money and don't have any way to support yourself, you don't think of the greater scheme," Hampton said. "Did I think when I was 40, I would be running for a judicial position? No, I did not. No one helped me. I didn't come from a wealthy family. I did it all on my own. ...
"I just went on a path that was not well travelled by people. It may not look good through the eyes of some, but it has given me the ability to see the different sides of life."
After working at Cheetahs, Hampton started classes in the fall of 1991 at the Community College of Southern Nevada before transferring to UNLV, where she ultimately received a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, the study of human movement. She said she was considering careers in medicine and physical therapy before pursuing a law career.
Hampton said not only was the pay good at Cheetahs, but the work schedule also allowed her to attend classes and take time off to study. She said she took a bartending job at Cheetahs when it opened even though it paid less.
"I really preferred being a bartender because I did it before," Hampton said. "Being a topless dancer wasn't something I set my mind to do. It is just something that ended up happening."
She said she planned on leaving Cheetahs and "knew she was not going to be in that environment at age 35."
She said she left Cheetahs in 1997 when she started attending the California Western School of Law, graduating in 1999. She said she put herself through law school with student loans.
Miller, a former deputy public defender and current judge pro-tem in Henderson, said he didn't want to comment.
"It is not an issue or a road I need to go down right now," Miller said. "This is about my qualifications. I suppose if the voters want to make it an issue, that is their decision. I am not going to make an issue out of it."
Hampton, who is married to a Henderson police officer and has a 20-month-old son, received the campaign endorsement of the Henderson Police Officers Association. The union's former president, Steve Kilgore, said the board was aware of Hampton's stint as a stripper before it decided to endorse her.
"She was very forthcoming to us about her background," Kilgore said. "We supported her because of her ability, intelligence, integrity and support she has given to law enforcement."
Kilgore said he doesn't think the revelations will hurt her campaign because Las Vegas is different from most communities. People won't hold something against her that she did in the past and is legal, he said.
Gary Hengstler, the director of the Reynolds National Center For Courts and Media at the National Judicial College in Reno, said he has never come across a case involving a judicial candidate once working as a stripper. In terms of this election, he said it may not matter because it was legal and people in Nevada have a libertarian outlook.
"My gut feeling is that the people in Nevada will say what is her record as an attorney and whether or not it is a good record and not go back that far," he said.
Joan Howarth, the associate dean for academic affairs at the Boyd School of Law, said as a law professor she has come across several students who have done all kinds of jobs, including working as strippers, and they are fine attorneys. She said she doesn't believe Hampton's one-year job will play with voters.
"I think most people will make a determination about a judge based on his or her career as a lawyer and reputation for honesty and integrity and judicial temperament," Howarth said.
The revelations of Hampton's past caught her former employer off guard. When she hired Hampton in 2002, Henderson City Attorney Shauna Hughes said she knew Hampton worked as a bartender at Cheetahs to put herself through college but didn't know she worked as a topless dancer.
Hughes said those applying for jobs are required to list all of their previous jobs, and she appeared surprised Hampton had never mentioned it to her.
"I saw the name Cheetahs, and I lived here so it rang a bell," Hughes recalled. "I asked her what she had done and she indicated she had been a bartender working her way through school. I think it would have been appropriate to tell me everything that was relevant to the positions that were held."
Hampton said she didn't think she did anything wrong. She said she thought it necessary only to list on the application her job as a bartender at Cheetahs because she spent six years in that position compared to one as a stripper. She said her colleagues knew about her past, and she would talk with them about it.
Hughes said she didn't know how it would have affected her hiring process in 2002 if Hampton had told her about being a stripper. Hughes said working at Cheetahs as a bartender didn't bother her and that she admired Hampton for working and putting herself through school.
As for whether she would ever hire her back, Hughes said there are no openings in her office. However, she praised Hampton's work for the city.
"She was a very tough and hard-working prosecutor, and I have nothing but high praise for her work for me," Hughes said.
Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, who has donated $2,500 to Hampton's campaign, said she knew of her past and considers Hampton a friend. She said the issue won't affect the race.
"You have to remember this was 13 years ago and it wasn't illegal," Cyphers said. "She did this to get her law degree and become the person she is today. You have to look at who she is today. That is the woman I respect. I think she will make a great judge."
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