Electing a Mayor

This year Leicester elects a Mayor. There were nine candidates, yet none of them sent me an election address.

Apart from official stuff - a poll card and an explanation of the Alternative vote, I had just two pieces of election literature, one from the Conservatives, and one from Labour, both asking me to vote for their City Council candidates. The Conservative leaflet also asked me to vote for the Conservative Mayoral candidate. The Labour Candidate didn't mention the Mayoral election at all.

I wonder if that is connected with past differences between the Labour Mayoral candidate, and the local Labour MP - Keith Vaz, PC MP

Incidentally, in the mayoral election we were allowed to give a second choice. That is a step in the direction of the Alternative vote, yet there has been no referendum on the question. I doubt if there was any need for a referendum over AV either.