State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed has found herself in a thorny political battle that most incumbents usually get to avoid — especially in a primary.

Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat vying for her second term in the State House, is facing a challenge from Kim Gardner, a political newcomer who works as an assistant prosecutor for Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce.

Last week, Gardner accused Nasheed of harassing some of her neighborhood canvassers. 

Now Nasheed — never one to back down from a fight — has countered with a complaint of her own, alleging that someone in Garnder’s camp is guilty of that venerable campaign misdemeanor — tampering with the opposition’s yard signs.

In a letter delivered this weekend to Gardner, Nasheed attaches pictures of a punctured sign and asks Gardner to take action — even, perhaps, taking it up with her boss.

“Please let me remind you that as an attorney and city prosecutor, you and your
campaign workers are expected to be above such unlawful and unethical practices, which
are clearly meant to intimidate and undermine my campaign,”Nasheed wrote to Gardner. “I call on you to denounce these tactics, and to police — and prosecute if necessary — your campaign staff to prevent such from ever occurring again.”

Shenanigans involving political lawn signs have been around since Gutenberg (or, at least, Truman) but if every politico accused of taking a rival’s placard were prosecuted, there might be enough for a quorum at the city Workhouse.