South Bay : Retired Professor Wins College Seat

What a difference a cruise can make.

When El Camino Community College Board candidate Robert Haag of Torrance boarded a two-week cruise for the Caribbean on Nov. 11, unofficial results had him trailing rival candidate Owen Griffith by five votes.

Haag, however, returns today the victor of a close race decided in large part by absentee and write-in ballots. Mary Lee of the county registrar’s office confirmed Tuesday that Haag, a professor of music at El Camino for 40 years, edged Griffith by 65 votes.

College spokeswoman Mary Ann Keating phoned Haag aboard the ship via satellite Friday when it appeared he was certain to win.

“He felt very proud to be the winner, but he also felt very humble that the voters had placed their trust in him,” Keating said. “If you knew him, you’d know those were very heartfelt words.”

Haag retired from El Camino earlier this year; during his time there, he also served as dean of community services and the head of the school’s fund-raising foundation.

The college district serves 23,000 students from 10 South Bay cities.