You have been such a tremendous supporter of my husband, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Because of that, I wanted to reach out to you today and let you know he will celebrate his 82nd birthday this week.

Joe and I have been married for 58 years. While he is known throughout the world as "America's Toughest Sheriff" there is another side to him that most people don't know about. He is a wonderful husband and a loving father. We have four grandchildren and Joe always makes it a point in his busy schedule to spend time with them.

Joe is as tough as they come. Even after all these years, I'm still amazed at his dedication to his work. He spends countless hours outside of his official duties to support charities and candidates for public office.

I believe what really drives my husband is his undying sense of right and wrong. Because he has taken on some tough issues (like illegal immigration), he has come under attack from political opponents, the media and even the Obama Justice Department. Even worse, he has had his life threatened more times than I can count.

You can imagine the worry that our family goes through on an almost daily basis. But, Joe is undeterred and gets up every day and goes about doing the job he was elected to do: enforce the laws of our state and our country.

But being an elected official is tough especially when one goes against what is considered "politically correct" in our society. The things his opponents do and say about him are simply awful.

But Joe has decided to run for another term as Sheriff of Maricopa County. I'm excited that he decided to run again because I know how much he loves his job and I know he'll continue to do excellent work - no matter what threats or reckless accusations will come his way.

But this campaign is going to be the toughest one for us yet. Sometimes it feels like it's just Joe against the world, but I know he has the support and backing of good people like you. I'm not good at asking for these types of things but I know how critical it is for Joe to have enough support to win another term as Sheriff.

Will you join me in standing with my husband, Sheriff Joe? A special contribution of "$82 for 82" would be so greatly appreciated. However, even $50 or $25 would mean so much.

I cannot thank you enough for all your support throughout the years for my husband. I know I may be asking for a lot, but Joe needs all of our support now more than ever before. I hope you will continue to support him by making a much-needed contribution to the campaign.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Ava Arpaio

P.S. I know you have stood with my husband before, which is why I am reaching out to you today. Your contribution of $82 for his 82nd birthday would mean so much. But if you cannot afford that, I hope you will still make a contribution in honor of Sheriff Joe's birthday. Please follow this link to do so.