The clubs have contributed more than $200,000 to their anti-Proposition 401 campaign, which voters will determine Sept. 12.
If Prop. 401 is approved, a new ordinance will go into effect at Babe’s and Skin that will require a 4-foot space between customers and topless dancers. It also would effectively ban lap-dancing.
Club owners say the ban on lap dances and the removal of tables adjacent to the stage will drive them out of business.
A pre-primary campaign finance report filed Thursday stated the political committee representing Babe’s Skin has collected $219,831 and spent $169,999 through Aug. 23. The clubs have spent their money on TV commercials, newspaper ads, campaign literature and consulting.
The strip clubs’ total is far greater than the $6,816 collected and $2,634 spent by Yes on 401, whose report was filed Tuesday. Yes on 401 received $2,000 from the Center for Arizona Policy, a Christian conservative group, and private donations.
Yes on 401 has spent its money primarily on signs and a phone message that featured the voice of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
Lamar Whitmer, a consultant for the clubs, said the election is important for the survival of Skin and Babe’s.
“When you figure the value of those businesses, what would you spend to save your business?” Whitmer said. “I don’t think it’s a question of buying the election, it’s a question of trying to stave off inappropriate government action.”
In December, the Scottsdale City Council adopted the stricter ordinance.
But within a month, Babe’s co-owner Jenna Jameson and Todd Borowsky, the owner of Skin, rounded up more than 8,000 signatures from residents demanding the issue go to a vote.
Business partners who co-own Babe's with Jameson are Vivid CEO Steven Hirsch, Vivid President William Asher and New Jersey-based adult-film producer Frank Koretzky.