Ex-Seven Network journalist Helen Kapalos​ has been approached, including by frontbencher David Feeney, while former SBS presenter Mary Kostakidis​ is being discussed as a potential candidate.

A long list of possible starters for Wills has been mooted since Kelvin Thomson announced his retirement on Tuesday after nearly 20 years as local member

Wills, which takes in Brunswick, Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Glenroy and Fawkner, is controlled by Labor's Right, a group now divided into a slew of competing sub-factions, all with a local presence.

But while the seat appears safe on paper - Thomson won in 2013 with a two-party-preferred vote of 65 per cent - Labor faces a rising threat from the Greens.

That threat could be bolstered at the next federal election with a possible challenge from Phil Cleary, the left-wing independent who held the seat in the early 1990s after Bob Hawke's retirement, and by Liberal preferences.

Mr Cleary said he would consider running again as an independent, particularly if Labor put forward a candidate who won due to a "grubby branch stacking deal".

"My message is if you want to languish in Wills and you want more of the same, vote Labor," he said. "Would I run again? It's not out of the question."

Mr Cleary is well known locally and would appeal to traditional Labor voters.

The Liberal Party is also seriously considering breaking from tradition and placing the Greens ahead of the ALP - a move that would put the seat for Labor in peril.

Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger said it would be almost impossible for the Liberals to place a union boss ahead of anyone else. "The only complicating factor would be if the Greens picked an extremist in the manner of Sarah Hanson-Young or Lee Rhiannon​, which would make the preferences more difficult."

The Greens are in gradual march across inner Melbourne, and have been buoyed by Mr Thomson's retirement. In 2010 Adam Bandt took the traditionally safe Labor seat of Melbourne for the Greens after Lindsay Tanner retired.

The Greens have not yet selected a candidate for Wills but officials predict a large field.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian Multicultural Commission, where Ms Kapalos is the new chairwoman, said she would not run for pre-selection.

Ms Kostakidis said she had not been approached and was not interested in running. ACTU President Ged Kearney has already ruled out running.

Among other possible Labor preselection candidates are former senator Mehmet Tillem​ a close ally of Right powerbroker Stephen Conroy.

Moreland councillors Meghan Hopper and Lambros Tapinos are believed to be interested, as is Peter Khalil, a former SBS director of corporate affairs.

Other names mentioned by Labor sources include ALP staffers Ben Maxfield, Anthony Cianflone​ and Anna-Maria Arabia.

Mamamia editor Jamila Rizvi​, a former Labor press secretary, is believed to be pondering whether to run.

Funds manager and former Yarra councillor Joshua Funder has confirmed he will contest the pre-selection.

Declaring himself un-aligned, Mr Funder is close to the traditional Independent group once led by big name figures such as former senator John Button and ex-premier John Cain. His policy focus will be on local jobs in the traditional manufacturing suburbs, and the need to manage the transition to modern manufacturing and service industries.

So too has Mr Funder called for an end to branch stacking, insisting there is is no place for "illegitimate" members in Wills or the wider ALP.

"Where members are not legitimate that needs to be investigated fully and cleaned up for the sake of democracy within the ALP and democracy in Australia."

Jane Garrett the state emergency services minister and member for the state seat of Brunswick, has ruled herself out of the contest for Wills. But her future remains unclear given the Greens continued to gains inroads into Labor's vote in the fast gentrifying seat.