Former State Sen. Quentin Kopp — the contrarian foghorn of the Sunset — is back in the political game, having taken out papers to run against state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who favors denser housing development.

“That’s right, I have filed to run against ‘Wienis,’” Kopp, who is 90, said in referring to the lanky liberal Wiener. “This guy is bad news from top to bottom.”

Kopp’s decision to challenge Wiener was triggered in part by the senator’s call to replace the Cow Palace’s board of directors with local politicians, a move Kopp called a the first step in a “land grab” by developers who have been eyeing the 65-acre site on the San Francisco-Daly City line.

Right now the board is made up of local appointees named by the governor.

Oh, and Kopp’s wife, Mara Kopp, is president of the Cow Palace board.

“And then there is Weinis’ Senate Bill 50, telling us we’ve got to take 40-foot tall apartment buildings in single-family-home neighborhoods,” Kopp continued. “Big Brother dictating to us all.”

To which Wiener retorted: “Quentin has a history of endorsing right-wing Republicans over Democrats. Quentin worked with Republicans to oppose bilingual education and bilingual voting and to undermine HIV education in our schools. I don’t think that’s the kind of leadership California needs, particularly in these dangerous times.

“As for his juvenile nickname for me,” he said, “if that makes him feel good, then he should have at it.”

Wiener’s Senate District 11 includes many of the neighborhoods that Kopp represented as a San Francisco supervisor from 1971 to 1986, when he won election to the state Senate as an independent.

Kopp left the Senate in 1998 when then-Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him to a Superior Court judgeship in San Mateo County, where he served until retiring in 2004.

Most recently Kopp served on the San Francisco Ethics Commission. He resigned earlier this year because he felt the panel was ineffective in calling out corruption at City Hall.

The primary election is in March, but Kopp’s comeback campaign could be cut short.

In June 2012, term limits for California state legislators were changed by the passage of Proposition 28, an amendment to the state Constitution that limited newly elected legislators to serving a total of 12 years in the state Assembly and state Senate.

Kopp however, left the state Senate before the new term limits were in place. Under the old law, he has used up his Senate time and could only run for state Assembly, but an official determination has yet to be made by the secretary of the Senate.

“If anybody tries to invoke that against me we’ll take it to litigation,” Kopp said.

That’s typical of Kopp.

Port park bust: After years of hosting big free-wheeling music events like the Treasure Island Festival and the Second Sky Music Festival, the Port of Oakland has been hit with a cease-and-desist order by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

“The staff finally said enough is enough,” said BCDC regulatory director Brad McCrea.

As issue are concerts and festivals produced by private promoters at the port’s Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. The events attract crowds of between 1,000 and 36,000. Renting out the park to promoters brings in from $50,000 to $100,000 a year to the port.

Port spokesman Mike Zampa said the concerts are “a unique way to attract new visitors” to the park.

BCDC officials have repeatedly called out the port on the violations — it is supposed to get the BCDC’s approval to hold any events — but no one took any action until October, when the annual Treasure Island Music Festival raised the hackles of the Save the Bay environmental watchdog group.

“Even a month after the festival, you could still see the damage that was done to the parks landscape and sprinkler system,” said Save the Bay Executive Director David Lewis.

Lewis said there are also concerns that closing down the park for paid events denies West Oakland residents access to one of the area’s few parks.

The 40-acre park was built as part of deal that allowed the port to expand its terminal operations. It was intended for use by West Oakland residents, and while it is part of the Port of Oakland, it is is also overseen by BCDC.

Closing the park for paid events requires the go-ahead from the BCDC, a requirement the port regularly ignored by submitting plans at the last minute or not submitting plans as all.

“The Port of Oakland notifies BCDC about upcoming concerts, but we’ve been remiss in obtaining written approvals,” Zampa said.

Most recently the port rented out the park from June 13 to 18 for the Second Sky Music Festival, which featured G Jones and Madeon.

What impact the cease-and-desist order might have on the All Day I Dream yoga and electronic music festival scheduled for Sept. 28 and the Halloween Music Festival on Oct. 28 remains to be seen.

“How BCDC reacts to future requests depends on the port’s action,” McCrea said.

“We’re implementing controls to make sure we fulfill BCDC’s requirements for all future concerts,” Zampa said.

BCDC’s role is to oversee the public and environmental interests concerning the bay and shoreline. It was recently the target of a scathing state audit that laid out a number of problems within the agency, including having slow and inefficient enforcement, a large backlog of cases and an inability to perform key duties.

“BCDC knew of the port’s serial violations at this park since at least 2014,” Lewis said. “West Oakland residents deserve faster action to protect their access to the bay and maintain their only shoreline park.”

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier