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By Fiona Lempres | Special to the Almanac
Our correspondent, Fiona Lempres, a second-grader at Sacred Heart Schools Lower School in Atherton, interviewed Atherton’s new police chief, Steven McCulley, on May 21, asking him about everything from the weather to sports team loyalties. Here’s a transcript of the interview.
Fiona: Congratulations on your swearing-in, Chief McCulley.
Chief McCulley: Thank you, Fiona.
Q. What has it been like to move from Washington state to California?
A. Well, the last six months in Seattle, it has been literally raining and cold every day. So since I’ve been here, I feel like I’m on vacation. I’m really excited to be here and my wife is going to move down in a few months and she’s really excited to come down, too.
Q. Do you think you will become a San Francisco Giants fan and/or a Forty Niners fan?
A. I think I’m going to have to be! I’m really not a Mariners fan – they don’t do much. But the Seahawks are a pretty good team.
Q. Did you always want to be a police officer even when you were a kid?
A. That’s a good question because I did. In high school I wanted to be a Washington State Patrol trooper. When I was a senior, the Kiwanis, which is a service club, sent me to a law enforcement camp, the State Patrol Academy, and I spent a week there. Then I really knew I wanted to be a police officer.
Then in college, I worked summers and put myself through school. I was a pizza driver to earn money, which was a good place to work because I got free pizza. I went to Washington State University and got a degree in criminal justice and sociology.
Q. What do you think is the best thing about the Atherton Police Department?
A. Lots of things. The people that work here, which is why I wanted to come here, are very professional, very friendly. I think they understand that the people that live here really like their police, which is important. So I’m happy to come here and provide them leadership, give them some experience and put our team together. It’s kind of like I’m the coach and they are the players but we are working all together.
Eventually, I’m going to come around to all the schools and meet all of your principals. I had a program back where I lived, “Lunch with the Police Chief,” and I went around to all the grade schools (but first I looked at the hot lunch menu) and I would go around and have lunch with kids.
Q. Did you go to your girls’ schools?
A. Yes, my favorite part was going to the school when my girls were there and coming in uniform and embarrassing them and having lunch with them.
Q. What does “No Call Too Small” mean?
A. Where I came from we coined that phrase because regardless of what people called for, we would go. Whatever the call is, it gives a chance to talk with people and see what’s really going on. I’ll give you an example. In my last community, one of my sergeants said he was going down to help a lady start her lawnmower – he said every spring she needs help starting her lawnmower so she called the police and we would go down there and start the lawnmower. Really small, but she appreciated it. It is important for us to make contacts with all the people that live here.
Q. What’s your favorite book?
A. Well, I really enjoy reading mysteries, but right now I am reading the history book about Atherton; it is really interesting.
Q. Thank you for your time, Chief McCulley.
Fiona lives in Atherton and is a second-grade student at Sacred Heart. Her dad, Mike Lempres, is the mayor of Atherton.
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