THE DIFFERENCES between District 89 Rep. Kenny Bingham and Ashley Cannon have less to do with values than with methods.

Mr. Cannon thinks lawmakers have ignored their duty to fund schools, and to treat poor districts fairly. He wants real tax reform that will result in lower property taxes and more school funding.

Mr. Bingham helped craft the Quinn-Sheheen tax reform bill, whose passage is his top priority; he says its main goal is to provide more and equitable funding for schools. In the process, it would cut property taxes.

Both men are dissatisfied that the Legislature merely tries to get by another year rather than taking radical approaches to the state’s fiscal crisis. Both want significant restructuring of the executive branch of state government.

Mr. Cannon disdains the many lawmakers who are clueless about issues they vote on. Mr. Bingham has put in countless hours making sure he’s not one of them — from sitting through budget negotiations to digging deeply into the tax code to find ways to overhaul it.

But you might not recognize those similarities if you only watched Mr. Bingham’s votes.

Mr. Cannon, a third-year history teacher, is bold to criticize fellow Republicans, and confident enough in his ideas that he would vote his convictions. Mr. Bingham makes no bones about the strategic approach he has taken to the party-disciplined, hierarchical House — building relationships, working hard on the front end to influence policy but, when that doesn’t work, falling into line and voting with the party on the floor.

Mr. Bingham knows there is a line, and he is willing to draw it, although not as often as we would like. He has been pushing for tax reform despite significant push-back from the leadership; he was one of just 24 representatives who voted to sustain the governor’s veto of the pork-laden Life Sciences Act — and one of just 15 who voted against House passage of the bill.

We’re not sure which approach is more likely to result in the kind of changes we need in the House. But given Mr. Bingham’s experience, maturity and long ties to the Cayce-West Columbia district, we believe it’s worth sticking with him.