Democrat Emerson Levy, left, and Republican Michael Sipe. 

The Bulletin’s editorial board was not able to reach consensus on an endorsement in the House District 53 race between Democrat Emerson Levy and Republican Michael Sipe.

There are things that make both candidates a good choice for the seat.

House District 53 now includes the north side of Bend, the southwest of Redmond, Sisters and Tumalo. State Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond, holds the seat and decided not to run again in the redrawn district. Levy ran before against Zika. She is an attorney specializing in renewable energy projects. This is Sipe’s first race for public office. He has worked as an advisor on mergers and as a business consultant.

Levy more clearly mirrors the views of the editorial board on abortion rights and gun safety. She favors abortion rights. Sipe does not.

The difference on gun safety issues is not as stark. Levy would, we believe, push harder for gun safety laws. She backs the Second Amendment and she said her focus is on magazine capacity for rifles. She said Oregon should look again at the state’s red flag laws to ensure they are truly usable for people to help prevent gun violence. Sipe also believes in the Second Amendment. He supports a waiting period of 30 days before people can buy a first firearm. He also said he thinks semi-automatic weapons should only be available for purchase when a person turns 21.

There are some other issues where they are not necessarily too far apart. They both have concerns about the way the corporate activities tax can impact businesses and prices. Levy is more interested in maybe doing tweaks. Sipe is more interested in doing away with it entirely. They both are not convinced by the work of a legislative task force trying to come up with a plan for exclusively state-run health care in Oregon.

We would like to see what Levy as a legislator could bring to bear on Oregon’s broken public defender system. She began her legal career as a public defender. She has a passion for finding public policy solutions and has already prepared legislation that she hopes will help with school safety.

Another issue for us is that Oregon’s state government suffers from one-partyitis. Democrats control both branches of the statehouse and the governor’s office. And there is such a high degree of control that Democrats have been able to achieve what they want on almost every topic — except if Republicans walk out.

Sipe in the statehouse would be a good counterbalance to what may be again one-party rule, though obviously we don’t know what the outcomes in many state races will be. Sipe comes at many issues from a traditional, Republican business perspective. He makes his arguments based on facts and reason. That’s a voice that should be heard in Salem.

In the end, the editorial board members could not agree on whom to endorse. But we hope we have provided some information here that will help you make up your own mind. Please vote.