REESE — Vassar’s Judy M. Neblock said she’ll spend the coming months trying to reverse the damage she claims has been done by one of her fellow Tuscola County residents — Reese’s Mark Steffek.

Neblock claims Steffek, head of the “Tea Party” of Michigan, is leader of a fake political party hoping to get candidates on the Nov. 2 ballot to siphon votes away from Republicans.

Steffek, 56, a retired Delphi Corp. employee named on filing papers as the president of the Tea Party, is “trying to sham the voters,” said Neblock, 64, co-founder of the Vassar-based Western Thumb TEA Party Group, an acronym for Taxed Enough Already.

The Saginaw News could not reach Steffek for comment. A news release given to a reporter by his wife, Sue Sheppard-Steffek, calls his party “a grassroots movement that belongs to everybody who wants to take our government back.”

On July 14, officials at the Michigan Secretary of State’s office said the Tea Party turned in about 59,000 signatures in its bid to gain ballot access for its candidates.

The state Board of Canvassers will evaluate the petitions to see if they bear the required 38,013 signatures of Michigan registered voters for a new political party to appear on the ballot.

Secretary of State spokeswoman Kelly Chesney said the Board of Canvassers must make that determination by Sept. 3.

Neblock said her group — one of dozens of groups belonging to the Michigan Tea Party Alliance — is a true grassroots “conservative” group.

She said Steffek’s party is a fake conservative organization hoping to trick voters into casting ballots for pretend conservatives, drawing votes away from Republicans who would have received those votes.

The logo of the Tea Party led by Steffek ballot depicts a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike, with the words “DON’T TREAD ON ME” below the reptile.

The logo is the same as that on the Gadsden flag, a historical American flag that Neblock said is a flag symbolizing the real TEA Party movement.

“They’ve even stolen our flag from us, and (Steffek) hasn’t said how he financed the collection of all those (59,000) signatures, at a cost of about $120,000,” Neblock said.

State Sen. Cameron S. Brown, a Republican candidate for secretary of state, calls the Tea Party attempt to get its candidates on the ballot a “dirty trick.”

Sheppard-Steffek said her husband worked for 34 years in the automotive industry before retiring in 2006 from Delphi. She said he graduated in 1972 from Akron-Fairgrove High School, where he captained the football, basketball and baseball teams his senior year, and also ran track.

The Tea Party’s mailing address is a post office in the small Tuscola County town of Richville, two miles from Reese.

A party press release states the party platform is “No more bailouts of big banks, no more wasting taxpayer money and no more North American Free Trade Agreements.”

According to a news release, the party held its convention July 24 in Saginaw, nominating 23 candidates whose names could appear on the Nov. 2 ballot if the party’s petition signatures are deemed sufficient by the Board of Canvassers.

Those nominated include Lonnie L. Snyder of Kawkawlin for U.S. representative in the 1st District, and Frantt V. Whitehill, with a Midland Post Office box as an address, for state senator in the 36th District.

William R. Hard, with a Freeland post office box as an address, is listed as a nominee for the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents.

Both Brown and Neblock allege creation of the Tea Party in Michigan is a move made in desperation by Democrats, though state Democratic Party leaders have denied any involvement.

“The (Nancy) Pelosis and the Obamas and the (Harry) Reids of this world are not happy about what they see coming to them in the fall, which is a natural response to them failing to listen to ‘We the People,’ ” Neblock said.

Neblock said voters “were duped into signing” petitions from the Tea Party.

“They thought they were signing for the real TEA Party,” Neblock said.

If the state Board of Canvassers deems the Tea Party petition sufficient by Sept. 3, the party would be the first to gain Michigan ballot access in 10 years.

Neblock said members of the real TEA Party conservative movement will try to spread the word before Nov. 2 that the Tea Party is a fake.

“The people who know what the real TEA Party movement is all about will not be fooled,” Neblock said, “but there are voters out there who are still asleep and don’t inform themselves.