A showdown looms on the Boardwalk down the shore.

That would be in Asbury Park, where the local governing body voted on Wednesday to defy Phil Murphy and permit indoor dining as of next Monday, June 15.

State pandemic-related rules allow only outdoor dining to reopen that day.

So what will the governor do?

He said nothing directly about that at his regular briefing today, but he strongly condemned the open defiance.

He said the threatened move is “inconsistent with our executive order” and he worried that irresponsible actions could undo all the progress the state has made combatting COVID-19.

And on this, the 100th day of the crisis by the governor’s count, the progress has been unmistakable. All the relevant metrics – hospitalizations, patients in intensive care and patients on ventilators – are pointing down, although there are still new cases and deaths every day. Today’s stats showed 539 new coronavirus cases and 70 additional deaths.

But staying with the obvious progress – a few weeks ago the state was averaging well more than a thousand new cases a day – Murphy said New Jersey has been “through hell” and he doesn’t want to go back.

He expressed sympathy for restaurants, acknowledging that they’ve been financially “crushed,” explaining, “I fully understand and appreciate the economic pressure.”

However, the governor said some of the states that reopened earlier than New Jersey, including Florida, Georgia and Texas, are seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases.  Murphy said he doesn’t want New Jersey to
join them.

Of course, the governor’s executive orders have been challenged throughout this ordeal via protests, a lawsuit by state Republicans and sometimes over-the-top rhetoric. Then there was the gym owner in
Bellmawr who illegally opened his facility three days in a row before it was closed by the board of health.

The Asbury Park situation is a bit different. This is a strong Democratic town and a vacation spot. And we’re talking about many restaurants as opposed to one renegade gym owner, whose supporters
included people waving Trump flags.

So, we reiterate, what will the state do? That question was also addressed to Pat Callahan, the head of the State Police.

Murphy talked about summonses previously issued to law-breakers.

Callahan bypassed the opportunity to speak on the issue.

But instead of planning to send in the National Guard to forcibly close restaurants, the governor is going to try politics.

Murphy said he will “engage actively with the governing body” in an apparent attempt to get local leaders to change their minds. Let’s see how that turns out.