The popular mayor of Sydney's Northern Beaches Council, Michael Regan, will contest the seat of retiring Health Minister Brad Hazzard as an independent in March's NSW election.
Mr Regan will contest the seat of Wakehurst – a traditionally safe Liberal seat which is currently held on a margin of 21.9 per cent.
The local mayor, who sits on council as an independent, is not affiliated with the so-called "teal" independents running in nearby seats and said he has his own political 'brand'.
"The teals have done a great job of engaging their local communities," Mr Regan said.
"But you forget that I've been doing this since 2008 in (the colour) orange."
The seat of Wakehurst is being vacated by Mr Hazzard, who has announced he will retire from politics after the state election.
Mr Hazzard holds the seat on an extremely safe margin but Mr Regan is considered to be a strong challenger against Liberal candidate Toby Williams.
Mr Regan said he had not had any discussions with either the Liberals or Labor about which party he would support in the event of a hung parliament.
"I would look to see what's best for my community," he said.
"I would have those discussions and then make an informed decision, because we all want stable and fair government."
Independent candidates are challenging the Liberal Party in a swathe of formally safe blue ribbon seats, hoping to replicate the success of independent candidates at last year's federal election.
Teal independent Jacqui Scruby is contesting the northern beaches seat of Pittwater, which is being vacated by the retirement of Planning Minister Rob Stokes.
Teal candidate Victoria Davidson is challenging sitting Liberal Minister Anthony Roberts in the seat of Lane Cove, and Helen Conway is contesting the seat of North Sydney against Liberal MP Felicity Wilson.
Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean has been spruiking the government's environmental credentials in recent weeks as the Liberal party prepares to go head to head with the independents.
"We don't take any seat for granted," he said.
"There's no government in the country that is doing more to protect our environment whilst also growing our economy."
The state election is just eight weeks away but the Liberals are yet to finalise candidates in about 20 seats.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said a process was underway to finalise candidates ahead of March 25.
"The Liberal Party is working through that," Mr Perrottet said.
"There's 93 seats to fill in terms of candidates and the Liberal Party is managing that process just like other parties are."
