What does a Minnesota lawmaker do during a legislative boycott?

Thursday began for Minnesota state Rep. Larry Kraft at a breakfast with the Mental Health Legislative Network at the Radisson Hotel in St. Paul, not far from the Capitol.

Normally, the DFL lawmaker from St. Louis Park would have spent the rest of the day in committee meetings, in his House office (really just a cubicle during State Office Building renovations) or in discussions with colleagues over the impending legislative session.

But not this year. Kraft and his fellow Democrats in the House have boycotted the new legislative session in an unprecedented power struggle with Republicans that has landed with the state Supreme Court.

“It made me sad being over there,” Kraft said, noting much of his day would usually have been spent at the Capitol.

Instead, the climate champion climbed into his Hyundai Kona electric vehicle and headed back to St. Louis Park for a day filled with meetings with lobbyists and constituents, and an afternoon tour of St. Louis Park High School.

The partisan dispute over what constitutes a quorum in the House erupted Tuesday when the session convened with only Republican members attending and conducting business. Before that, Secretary of State Steve Simon ruled that they lacked a quorum, but Republicans said their current 67-66 edge gives them the authority to elect a speaker, set committees and run the chamber for the next two years.

The state’s highest court is now considering whether they really can.

Democrats’ refusal to show up at the Capitol has ignited a storm of criticism among Republicans, especially since DFL lawmakers continue to get paid.

“This move is a slap in the face to the institution and to every voter who expects their elected officials to act in good faith and uphold the integrity of the legislative process,” said Rep. Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring, who was elected speaker of the House by Republicans on Tuesday. “Minnesotans sent us here to govern, not to play political games.”

Kraft conceded that “the optics are bad. None of us want this, we want to work together.” But negotiations to reach a power-sharing agreement between the parties have so far fallen flat.

The most contentious point of disagreement revolves around the fate of Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee. Republicans challenged Tabke’s 14-vote election victory in court after Scott County elections officials lost 20 absentee ballots in one precinct. A judge upheld Tabke’s victory on Tuesday, but GOP lawmakers may refuse to seat him.

“If we had shown up [Tuesday], Republicans would have basically stolen the election,” Kraft said.

So that means Kraft’s work as a lawmaker has shifted for now to his blue district, where he won a second term in November with 75% of the vote.

Once he returned from St. Paul on Thursday, Kraft had a Zoom meeting with BNSF Railway officials regarding a constituent’s concerns about the railroad’s vegetation management practices along its tracks in St. Louis Park.

Later, he drove to the Yum! Kitchen and Bakery about a mile from his house to meet with officials from Xcel Energy.

Kraft took notes on his laptop while discussing EV charging infrastructure and rates in condo and apartment buildings — nearly half of the people his district live in multifamily units — and other climate issues.

The New York native is passionate about combating climate change — during his freshman term, he championed a groundbreaking law that calls for major state highway projects to be designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. He also sponsored 27 bills that dealt with mental health care, transportation, housing and voter registration.

His next meeting Thursday was at Methodist Hospital, where he joined Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, to discuss strengthening the state’s drunken driving laws.

Hospital officials had asked for help after two people were killed — one was a hospital employee — and several injured in a horrific crash last September at Park Tavern, which is in Kraft’s district.

The SUV driver who plowed into the restaurant’s patio had a blood alcohol level four times the Minnesota legal limit of 0.08% and has five previous drunken driving convictions, according to court documents. Yet he had a valid state driver’s license at the time.

Kraft shared some of his ideas for legislation with hospital officials, and they promised to keep in touch.

After a quick lunch, Kraft zipped home for a Zoom meeting with a representative from the Minnesota Racing Commission, who gave him a primer on the industry.

Then it was back to Yum! — Kraft jokes that it’s his second office — for a meeting with reps from Fresh Energy, a St. Paul-based clean energy organization. But that meeting fell through, so Kraft had about an hour to kill before the school tour.

The lawmaker sat quietly in the bustling café and reflected on the bitter partisan divide at the Capitol.

“I’m really anxious to get this behind us,” he said, noting he has good relationships with several Republicans. “While I would have preferred to have the majority again, being in a tied House is intellectually interesting.

“It’s a problem to be solved.”