PROVINCETOWN — Jere Miller, one of two candidates for select board on the ballot for the May 14 town election, is the subject of multiple restraining orders imposed in Orleans District Court from 2017 to 2023 at the request of Miller’s ex-wife, Kristen Reed, who is the current chair of the Truro Select Board.

Miller, 56, who works as a carpenter and has no experience serving in town government, is challenging incumbent Leslie Sandberg, 61, for a seat on the five-person Provincetown Select Board.

In July 2019, Judge Robert Welsh III accepted Miller’s guilty plea for violating an active court order that required him not to contact Reed directly or indirectly. As part of the plea agreement, Miller agreed to serve one year of probation, enroll in an intimate partner abuse program, complete a mental health evaluation, and stay away from Reed and her family.

According to court documents, Miller’s probation was extended by six months in July 2020 because he had failed to complete the intimate partner abuse program.

He did eventually complete the program, and his probation ended in early January 2021. Soon afterward, court documents show, Miller started sending harassing email messages to Reed at her Truro Select Board address, which led to the issuance of another restraining order in August 2022.

From Jan. 16, 2021 to Aug. 19, 2022, according to the documents, Miller sent nine messages to Reed’s work email. In multiple messages, included in full in the court record, Miller targets not only Reed but also Sandberg, claiming that Sandberg was Reed’s campaign manager and mentor in running for office.

Sandberg told the Independent that she acted as a “campaign adviser” to Reed during her first run for select board, giving advice on communications strategy.

In an email from August 2022, Miller wrote, “my goal is to thwart any effort of yours and Sandberg.” He ends the message by saying, “It’s starting. And I have nothing to lose.”

Later that month, the court issued another restraining order against Miller, at Reed’s request, which was in effect for one year. There is no indication in the documents that Miller was violent in his behavior with Reed or her family members.

In an interview with the Independent this week, Miller acknowledged having violated the original restraining order. When asked if he set out to specifically displace Sandberg on the select board, he first said no but later compared Sandberg to politicians like Donald Trump and said that “those types of people shouldn’t be in politics.”

Sandberg told the Independent this week that “the court documents speak for themselves. This campaign should be about which candidate the voters of Provincetown feel will best serve them on the select board, and I trust that the voters will make the right decision.”

Reed declined to comment for this article.

According to court records, Miller and Reed were married in September 2010. They filed for divorce in February 2017. The divorce was finalized in June 2017. That same month, according to one of Reed’s affidavits, Miller began demanding that Reed hand over items that he believed were in the home they had shared. Reed wrote that she communicated that she did not have the items that Miller requested. Miller then demanded payment.

After Reed refused, Reed told the court that Miller began threatening her in text messages. Later, according to Reed, Miller contacted one of Reed’s male coworkers, sent a photo of Reed to him, and twice told him to stay away from Reed.

In December 2017, Reed wrote, Miller texted a group chat that included six members of her family a photo of a book and the words “prepare for a reckoning.” These interactions were the basis of Reed’s first petition for a restraining order against Miller, which was granted that same month.
Miller admitted that he sent the “prepare for a reckoning” message but said that he was referring to background research he was conducting on a writing project. Miller writes poetry, short stories, and screenplays. In 2019, Miller read from a self-published book, Family: A Battle at Kruger Lake, at the Provincetown Public Library.

Miller violated the restraining order on multiple occasions in 2018. According to a report submitted by Truro Police Officer James Bragdon on April 10, 2018, Miller sent a message to Reed’s sister saying, in all capital letters, “Liars fall very hard in the end … and their minions.”

Reed reported his behavior to the Truro police, and in July 2019 Miller was arrested and spent the weekend in Barnstable County Jail before pleading guilty to violating a protective order.

In 2013, Miller was charged with suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, negligent operation of a vehicle. He completed 12 months probation in February 2015.

A Tennessee native, Miller told the Independent that he first visited Provincetown in the summer of 1986. He said he has been a resident of Provincetown on and off for years.

In 1998, at age 30, Miller joined the Marines. He worked as a supply analyst before being discharged in July 2002. He worked as a lifeguard at Herring Cove Beach for four years, after which he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He later went back to the university for a master’s program in nonprofit leadership and development.

Miller told the Independent that advocating for affordable housing in town would be his priority if he is elected. Though he has not served on any town boards, he said he was encouraged by multiple people to run for select board. He expressed doubts about the cost of the Motta Field master plan and said his campaign slogan would be “A voice of Provincetown.”

In 2024, Miller became a board member of Provincetown TV. He is also a member of the local American Legion chapter. He works for Winard Construction.