What is your grade for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee? | Opinion

You either loved or hated the Republican National Convention.

When we asked for a letter grade for the four-day convention that wrapped up last Thursday in Milwaukee, 42% of the respondents gave the event an "A." That's a pretty high curve.

Yet 31% rated it a "D" and 17% gave it a flat "F."

So nearly half (48%) weren't pleased but with "B" and "C" grades pulling in 5% each, overall the RNC passed for 52%. Our survey didn't dive into politics, but the pass/fail rate sure mirrored Wisconsin's purple state status. A total of 59 people took the non-scientific survey.

What people liked about the Republican National Convention

Overall, readers who gave the convention high grades thought the logistics were handled well, believe it will raise Milwaukee's profile and will deliver a big economic boost. Here are some comments:

?"Extremely well run event. Attendees, volunteers, drivers etc. were so incredibly warm, welcoming, friendly and polite. Security was spot on. People picked up after themselves. I found it incredibly impressive." — KT from Greendale, who was downtown during the week for work.

?" I feel like we were able to show that we are capable of hosting massive events, things went well. As for the economic impact due to tourism, I could hardly tell we were hosting a massive event if I wasn’t near downtown, it seemed quiet outside of downtown. But we showed we are capable, friendly, welcoming, and prepared to invited in tens of thousands of people." — Marcos from Milwaukee who deliberately avoided the RNC area.

?"Great show case for the city and its ability to handle large conventions!" — Ryan from Pewaukee, who was downtown during the week.

?"I was a volunteer and chatted with many people from all over (both volunteers who came from far and wide, and attendees) and everyone I spoke with had a very positive perception on Milwaukee. Many had their doubts but changed their mind. Many said that their main disappointment was not being able to see more of the city. On the flip side I was disappointed to see how scripted everyone’s time was and that it definitely had a neg impact on local businesses. I think of it more as a long-term investment for the city. People across the country will begin yo see it as a more cosmopolitan destination." — Katie from Milwaukee.

Readers who gave the Milwaukee convention failing grades

Several commentators noted the death of a homeless man who was shot by out-of-town police officers providing security after he approached another man with two knives in his hands and ignored commands to drop the weapons. They also were critical of the level of security:

?"I think it cost more than it was worth. The fact that someone died because we had police from other communities who didn’t know our community or the beat they were assigned is a huge loss and sad that no one seems to care much. I do think Milwaukee looked good in the national spotlight and I’m proud of our citizens for being welcoming despite political differences." — Chris from Milwaukee, who avoided downtown during the week.

?"Milwaukee never coincides with Wisconsin voting wise. We took the heart of a city that does not typically vote republican and restricted its access to the point only people with power and money got to roam out streets. Never speaking with or about MPS, infrastructure, or anything Milwaukee’s citizens actually care about. Madison’s political views have no place in Milwaukee." — Lauren from Milwaukee, who was downtown during the week.

?"Don’t ever have a convention like this come to Milwaukee. (Someone) was shot to death by out of town police officers. You don’t have enough hotel rooms or any sort of shopping or entertainment so I’m not sure how Milwaukee got the Democratic convention and now the Republican convention. Everything listed in the papers of things for people to do we’re all in outlying suburbs of Milwaukee and little to none in downtown Milwaukee." — Kim from Kenosha, who deliberately avoided the area.

?"I still maintain Milwaukee is too small a city for such an event. The security zones, and the myriad of traffic issues just made even trying to approach the area untenable. While a handful of restaurants, etc. had a great deal of business, too many surrounding the zones took a great loss as to business they normally would have had at this time. I frequent the downtown/3rd/5th ward areas, and was unwilling to even attempt visiting until Friday. " — Dean from Waukesha.

Should Milwaukee continue to bid for other large national conventions?

The vast majority of survey takers want Milwaukee to keep going after big conventions and see it as a big tourism driver. Some respondents were undecided about moving forward with other large events, and had a host of questions they'd want to see answered first:

?"I feel like events of this size are good. But security of this size is bad. If we can get big events that don’t require so much heightened security and that don’t scare away locals, I think that would be good." — Joshua from Milwaukee who was downtown during the week.

?"Went well. Next time temper expectations with the business community. There were what, about 50k people In town for this? That's like a sold out Marquette game and the ice capades going on In the UWM arena at the same time. That doesn’t overflow Milwaukee with people so not sure why we thought this was gonna. Plus they were all confined for the most part in that walled off security zone, so it was unlikely the rest of the city would see much." — Kevin from Waukesha who avoided the area during the week

Some thoughtful parting thoughts to ponder

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Here are two especially thoughtful comments to consider:

?"It seems like there were some businesses that benefitted, but others that didn’t. When I went downtown (outside of the security zone) I saw very few people out and about. I did see a lot of police and I don’t appreciate the massive police presence. I was in the Third Ward for about an hour and a half and I encountered about 30 bicycle police, 3 on motorcycles, and then a group of about 5 cars (marked and unmarked) with their lights flashing around a couple of charter busses. All of this in a business area that is ordinarily very busy, but in this occasion was quite deserted. I didn’t like that locals had to stay away and our streets were filled with a lot of police. I am hopeful that we will see an economic impact, but I am worried that most of those convention dollars went to a few lucky businesses in the security zone or businesses that got people bussed to them or the suburbs." — Joshua from Milwaukee who was downtown during the week.

?"The City/County/RNC could have done a much better job communicating the impact to adjacent residents and businesses in real time. The initial maps were good but things changed so often that it was impossible to know where to go - bad for those familiar with the area but impossible for others. Streets were closed for set-up days before the published date, why was parking restricted a week before the event? Businesses really suffered. If we are to host another big event - like the All Star BB, the sponsors need to be required to have a site where they post info in real time and where there is someone to respond to questions. " — Kristine from Milwaukee, who was downtown for the event.

Give us your grades on the Republican National Convention

The balloons dropped. The delegates arrived and left with souvenirs along with promises to return to Milwaukee. Mayor Cavalier Johnson proclaimed mission accomplished, "We were able to elevate Milwaukee," he said in a post-convention interview with the Journal Sentinel.

Even the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, noted the huge economic impact of hosting the convention on Milwaukee, quipping during his acceptance speech Thursday night that he was "trying to buy" Wisconsin's vote. He put the impact at $250 million, though the official estimate is $200 million. The actual numbers will be closely scrutinized in the weeks and months to come with reports of disappointing sales from some downtown businesses.

As life downtown slowly returns to normal and we stop seeing Milwaukee and RNC on national news, we'd like your take on the convention and it's impact on Milwaukee. This is not a question about the politics of the event. Indeed, the standard line from event organizers was that the RNC wasn't about blue or red, but green.

We will begin posting your feedback as soon as grades start rolling in:

A big thanks to readers who have weighed in throughout the week about the convention, including:

Donald Trump's acceptance speech: Rambling mess of falsehoods. I liked all of it! God spared this man for us!

The selection of J.D. Vance for VP: A Trump clone. Much-needed youth.

Your mood heading into the convention: Here is what you are most looking forward to, and dreading, about the RNC

Reaction to an attempted assassination: How you're feeling after Saturday's Trump rally shooting

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Give us your letter grade for the Republican convention in Milwaukee