Labor hopes to have a replacement candidate for the battleground seat of Frankston by the end of next month, following the resignation of the party's former candidate due to bullying claims.
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Frankston councillor James Dooley, who is from the same Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party as Opposition leader Daniel Andrews, told The Age on Friday he would nominate for the seat.
"We need someone who is local, who understands local issues and will fight for Frankston," the 47-year-old said.
Former chief executive of Peninsula Community Legal Centre Helen Constas announced she would step down on Thursday following reports she had reached a confidential court settlement with her former personal assistant, who accused her of bullying.
It is understood Ms Constas told the Labor Party in January there had been a problem at the legal centre but they were not aware of all the details.
Labor party sources said it was too early to identify a frontrunner.
The controversy has hurt the Opposition, which hoped to win the marginal seat of balance-of-power MP Geoff Shaw.
"We had no choice but to encourage Helen to take that decision," a Labor source said.
Mr Shaw holds the seat by a slim 0.4 per cent margin.
