At 1:57 p.m. Tuesday a press release from the Ned Lamont campaign for governor hit my inbox: "Lamont Unveils Strategy to Renew Connecticut Cities"here

At 2:03 p.m. a press release from his party-endorsed opponent for the Democratic nomination, former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, arrived: "Malloy responds to Lamont's ideas for cities."

Such is the nature of debate in an age of instant and constant communication.

"Connecticut's cities were once the hubs of our economy, but over the years they've fallen behind," said Lamont. "As governor, I will fight to revitalize our cities and make them places where people are proud to live, work and raise a family. By focusing on smart development, improving education and giving Connecticut families the tools to build a better life, we can renew our cities and begin a new era of prosperity for the entire state."

His plan:

-- Transform urban education from cradle to career by pulling together teachers and administrators, students and parents.

-- Focus transportation strategy on our urban train and bus hubs, revitalizing downtowns, liberating commuters from rush hour traffic, and creating thousands of jobs.

-- Ease the property tax burden on city residents by making PILOT (payments by the state in lieu of taxes not paid by non-profits) a top priority, and making it easier for cities to redevelop brownfields, turning yesterday's industrial sites into tomorrow's high-tech facilities.

-- Help families succeed by increasing access to child care, financial literacy training, job placement assistance, and implementing a state Earned Income Tax Credit

-- Foster transit-oriented development by encouraging public-private partnerships and providing incentives for higher-density affordable housing near public transit.

For Lamont's full plan, go

here

Malloy's response six minutes later:

"The state needs to do more to support our cities and urban areas, and I'm glad to see Ned taking an interest in that discussion.  But urban revitalization requires a much more comprehensive, holistic approach than what Ned suggested today.  I should know; I spent 14 years turning a city around.  Yes, job creation is a huge piece of what we did; almost 5,000 new jobs.  But that wouldn’t have been possible without the other issues we focused on: we lowered crime by 63%, expanded access to health insurance, made pre-k available to all children, built thousands of units of affordable housing, improved transportation and mass transit, dramatically overhauled the city’s infrastructure, and made government smaller and more effective.  That’s why Stamford has been recognized as one of the safest, best cities in the nation.  I welcome Ned to this discussion, and I again urge him to have that discussion with me in cities and towns across the state."

To check out Malloy's idea go

The Malloy quick response would make a NASCAR pit crew proud. Not sure what it says about his ability to govern. Maybe he could push the General Assembly to wrap up its sessions in a week!