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Green Party co-leader Russel Norman will contest the Mt Albert by-election, the party announced on Friday.
Norman, a sitting list MP, is the strongest candidate the Greens could put up and he will take votes from Labour in the June 13 by-election to fill the seat left vacant by former prime minister Helen Clark.
However, it is still a safe Labour seat and Norman said his nomination would not change that.
"There's no way anyone is going to elect a National candidate," he said.
"This is about sending a message to central government, and you don't send a message by voting National, especially when they're about to bulldoze your suburb with a motorway."
Norman predicted the by-election would turn into a contest between Labour and the Greens.
"I don't think the National candidate stands a chance."
The nomination was announced by party co-convener Roland Sapsford, who said Norman has been chosen because Auckland issues were also important to the Greens.
"With a well-known candidate we can talk with a larger audience about issues like good governance and a decent rail system for the Auckland region," Sapsford said.
Norman said the Greens are going to offer Mt Albert better transport options than those on the table now.
"We would fix the public transport system first, relieve congestion and give Aucklanders a faster, cheaper way to get to work and the airport," he said.
A meeting will be held next week to confirm Norman as the party's candidate, but that is a formality.
Labour has received nine nominations for the by-election and David Shearer, a former adviser to party leader Phil Goff when
Goff was foreign minister, is tipped to be chosen.
National is known to have at least three nominations and the front-runner is another sitting MP, Melissa Lee.
In last year's general election the Greens' Mt Albert candidate Jonathan Carapiet gained 2019 votes, 5.9% of the total cast.
Clark retained the seat with a huge 10,351 majority but the by-election is expected to be a closer contest.
