The Independent TD, Mr Tony Gregory, is considering whether to designate a candidate to stand in his place in the race for Dublin City Council.
Mr Gregory topped the poll in 1999 when he secured 3,394 first-preference votes in the north-inner city ward of Dublin City Council.
While he is obliged to stand down from the council due to the ban on the dual mandate, he said yesterday that some of his closest political associates had declined an opportunity to seek his support in the local election in June.
"There are other options. We'll have to make a decision on how to deal with the situation," he said.
"A number of people who have been with me from the very start - I hoped that one of them would run to replace me on the city council - have decided themselves that they don't want to at this stage."
With the TD securing more than two quotas in the last election, he is likely to designate a successor candidate to avoid dilution of his core support.
Mr Gregory would not disclose who was in contention, but local speculation centres on his brother, Mr Noel Gregory, and on an anti-bin tax campaigner, Mr Joe Mooney.
Regardless of who stands in place of Mr Gregory, a number of informed political sources said yesterday that the Sinn Féin councillor, Mr Christy Burke, was expected to top the poll in the ward.
The party is putting up a second candidate in the ward, Mr Ciarán Mac Annraoi.
The Fianna Fáil candidates in the ward are: businessman Mr Nial Ring; Cllr Tom Stafford; and a party official, Ms Marguerite Fitzpatrick.
Labour's candidates are: Ms Emer Costello, wife of Mr Joe Costello TD; and Mr Aodhán O'Riordan.
Ms Valerie Ní Fhaoláin is running for Fine Gael.
