EDITORIAL:

And you thought Hillary Clinton had trouble taking a hint. Allan Beek’s got it all over her in that department.

Beek’s quixotic crusade to upend Newport Beach’s new city hall plan appeared even more hapless as Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos rejected Beek’s request for an injunction to halt spending for the architectural drawings.

Let’s break this down, so you can see how desperate this effort has become.

Voters in February, by nearly a 53% margin, approved the new city hall.

Beek sued. He argued that only the City Council should have the right to decide where the new city hall is built.

This was ironic because Beek is known as the father of the Greenlight initiative in 2000, which mandated that voters decide major land-use proposals, not the City Council.

So the City Council, which couldn’t muster a majority to approve the new city hall plan on 12 acres next to the central library, reversed itself and approved the project.

That should take care of Beek’s lawsuit, they hoped.

Wrong. Beek has refused to give up.

In fact, he sued again, claiming the council’s vote violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the city’s general plan.

Beek’s argument? That the council broke the law because the city already dedicated the land as open space.

So let’s review:

A majority of residents who voted in February approve the city hall plan. Most of the City Council now does, too.

And Judge Polos, while ruling against Beek’s request for an injunction, said Beek has little chance of prevailing at trial.

And Beek claims it’s the city that is wasting tax dollars. What nerve. This is about as frivolous as a lawsuit can get and about as specious an argument can get.

Beek’s obstinacy in this lengthy dispute is like that of a kid who loses a game, then says, “Wait, two out of three wins!”

And when that fails, “Three out of five!”

It’s time to end this game. You’re tilting at windmills, Allan Beek.