What was the main benefit to Boston of hosting the convention?

We wanted to show Boston as a world-class city and we did it. We held a flawless convention. You have one opportunity to take a bite of that apple.

What would you do differently?

There were some staff I would have brought on board sooner.

How can average residents get involved?

I encourage people to volunteer. We had 14,000 volunteers. They did everything from welcoming people at the airport to arranging transportation. We had 'Beantown Buddies' we paired up with the delegations. It was based on civic pride and pride in hosting the event. It's an outstanding thing for a city to be able to welcome a national party and help nominate a president.

What were the biggest hassles for the public?

A lot of traffic was redirected, that was the biggest issue. Our facility was eight feet from the interstate highway and above a commuter rail station. Our biggest problem was shutting down the highway and relocating the commuter rail. Denver won't have to worry about that.

Was security a problem?

No one questioned security once the Secret Service took over. They worked with us to determine what needed to be accomplished. The level of security will be very high. They'll work over the next year planning this.