That’s a wrap. We’re done here.

WBT’s Tara Servatius has definitively shown — as if there were much doubt — that the UNCC “study” of CATS released in May was an official Uptown production merely laundered through Charlotte’s top public research institution.

On top of that, there are rumors afoot that the UNC system has at least wondered about asking UNCC for a clearer account of how the Center for Transportation Policy Studies came to do a study “for the Chamber.”

For the Chamber. That is not a Tara or Meck Deck description. That is Mr. Ron Tober in an April 9th email Servatius unearthed. Study author Edd Hauser was seeking data on CATS’ revenue and Tober described the effort as, “This is for a study that the folks at UNCC are doing for the Chamber.”

Other emails show that CATS staff was closely involved in producing data for Hauser, even doing extra work to answer his questions.

Even more telling is the email that indicates that Hauser planned to share his preliminary results with the Chamber of Commerce on April 10th. A possibly Chamber review of the study had been one of the many outstanding questions surrounding this matter. Now it does appear that the Chamber did, in fact, receive a draft copy of the report for review.

But for all-time stunning bit of politicking nothing tops the April 24th exchange between Hauser and Tober. The “study” is evidently complete, the only question is when to release it.

Hauser advises Tober that, “We (the University) will release the completed study sometime next week. Therefore we would appreciate you not going to the MTC with it quite yet.”

Tober replies that he will only share it with top CATS staff until it is released. On April 25th there was a MTC meeting which included a discussion of the half-cent repeal. The Hauser study was not mentioned.

But the next day Hauser writes Tober asking to him essentially approve the final section of the final version of the report.

To top staff, but not the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Not yet. Wait for maximum political impact. Some independent research report report, folks.

Again, this would all be fine had it come under the Chamber’s nameplate. No harm, no foul. Make the best case you can. But for a public university to take up sides in a political debate and actively work with one side — and one side only — to impact public opinion is completely unacceptable.

Equally disturbing is CATS and Ron Tober’s role in the study. In these emails Tober comes off not so much as the subject of study but the director of study.

The most shocking thing of all? That top CATS staff had weeks to review Hauser’s work and did not catch that the initial cost per mile of the South line was off ($20m. not $48m.) or that the original length of the line was completely wrong (11 miles, not 9.6). And those are just the most glaring of many confusions in the “study.”

Then again, they are only confusing if you assume the report was intended to inform and educate.

However, as a propaganda document it works reasonably well on the ignorant and inattentive.

Until now.