I cannot imagine why the governor wants to privatize the Elizabeth Levinson Center in Bangor. He is taking Maine’s most vulnerable population, the children with the severe to profound range of mental retardation, and handing them off to the private sector. Apparently he has not visited the center and does not realize the profound disaster he is about to cause.

My family has had a connection to the center for the last 25 years. My sister was in the facility for three years for respite services, the remainder of the time at home. The only reason she is no longer there is because she died. My sister, Anna Fiedler, 4 years old, died at the center. Does that make me a little biased? I don’t think so.

Perhaps the governor should look at what taxpayers pay him, and perhaps he should not get paid for the years of service – put his salary back to help cover the shortfall. But he shouldn’t cut services for the children. They do not have a voice. They have only the voice of the people who know that they exsist and know what their needs are. This is my voice, those children are my family.

People who don’t have a family member with such needs will never understand the complexity of the situation in letting the center become privatized.

Is money more important than the quality of life for those children?

Brandy L. Coulombe, Sabattus