A Kinsleyian Gaffe

A Seattle politician accidentally tells (stumbles upon?) the truth;

The garage made money for a decade, but use started to fall in 2004 and dropped sharply when the recession hit.

The city tried raising parking prices several times to offset the lost income, only to lose more customers.

In summer 2011, it lowered prices temporarily to slightly less than the $4 an hour it cost to park on the street downtown, but shoppers haven’t returned in the same numbers.

“We experimented with lower rates. We lost more money,” Podesta said.
Councilmember Jean Godden said running a parking garage is “obviously not our forte.”

The garage in question happens to be across the street from Nordstrom's flagship store in downtown Seattle. Funny that Nordstrom built its original store without help from city building it a parking garage.  Nor did that hinder the numerous other retailers who located there for decades.

Now, just what IS the city government's 'forte'?