THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Activist Allan Beek is calling on Newport Beach officials to halt plans for a new city hall building next to the central library while a lawsuit remains.

“Planning for the new city hall is premature until we know where the city hall is going to be — it ain’t over until it’s over,” Beek said at Tuesday’s council meeting. Beek’s lawsuit against City Clerk LaVonne Harkless seeks to invalidate the results of a ballot measure on the location of the next city hall.

Measure B, which passed with about 53% of the vote Feb. 5, requires the city to build a new city hall on city-owned land next to the central library in Newport Center. Opponents of the measure sought to preserve the land for a park.

The council voted unanimously to support Measure B after it passed last month, reconciling the council’s earlier 3-4 split on the issue. The city is already in the process of interviewing architects for a design committee to oversee plans for the new building. Some city officials have speculated the council’s vote has rendered Beek’s lawsuit moot in the eyes of the courts, but the activist has vowed not to drop the legal challenge.

“Measure B is still tied up in court, and city hall may well not be where we think it’s going to be,” Beek said in his plea to the council. He also railed against the large amount of money the pro-Measure B campaign spent on direct mail and phone surveys in the weeks before the election.

“Some people say that the people have spoken, but that wasn’t the people speaking; that was the money speaking,” Beek said.

Newport Beach City Atty. Robin Clauson said the council’s approval of Measure B allows it to move forward with plans for the city hall even if validity of the measure itself remains in question.

“The status of Measure B does not impact the council’s decision to build on the park site property if they so choose,” she said.

REMEMBERING GARY PROCTOR

Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich dedicated a city council meeting to the memory of former councilman and prominent attorney Gary Proctor, who was found dead Sunday afternoon at his San Jose home in an apparent suicide.

“Gary was intelligent, fair and always informed on the issues being debated,” Selich said.

Proctor was elected to the council in 2000 on a platform opposing expansion at John Wayne Airport, but stepped down from his 2nd District council seat in 2003. He said at the time he felt the airport issues he ran for office on were no longer relevant to the city.

During his tenure on the council and as a member of the Airport Commission, Proctor was known as a staunch advocate for building an airport at El Toro, Selich said.

Proctor resigned from his for-profit law firm that represents low-income clients in Santa Clara County dependency court last month after the San Jose Mercury News alleged that Proctor’s Santa Clara-county contracted firm, Juvenile Defenders, did not defend its low-income clients aggressively when it cost too much money to investigate cases.

Police found Proctor dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

LOCAL YOUNG REPUBLICANS SEEK CONTRIBUTIONS

Perhaps hoping to rub elbows with their grown-up counterparts, the Orange County Young Republicans started a political action committee that will raise money for their endorsed candidates.

“The Young Republicans have always been a grassroots organization designed to help elect the candidates that we endorse, and we have traditionally done that through grassroots activities — precinct walking, home banking, any kind of manpower support we could provide,” group president Shawn Fago said. “What we wanted to do was go above and beyond that, and impact these elections more effectively by adding a money component … give our efforts a little more oomph.”

Fago says the group will collect money from large donors, such as local Republican fundraisers Buck Johns and Paul Folino, and smaller contributions from its members.

The OC Young Republicans PAC is not the only group employing funds: Their Democratic counterparts have also taken on the challenges of money politics.

“Having a PAC gets you in the game and lets you directly influence the fundraising to candidates and ballot propositions you support,” said OC Young Democratic Chairman Jason Bensley.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.