NEW YORK (AP) — With the arduous campaign to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg finally in its final stage, New Yorkers now have their choices before them: stick with policies that have kept the city relatively safe and prosperous, or break from a past that some residents complain has nurtured income inequality and racial divisions.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio became the undisputed Democratic nominee Monday after primary runner-up Bill Thompson withdrew and eliminated the need for a runoff election. Republican nominee Joseph Lhota quickly went on the attack and painted the Nov. 5 general election as a contest between two major-party opponents with vastly different visions of how the city should function after 12 years of Bloomberg.