 Ron Swanson had been director of Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department for six years at the time Parks and Recreation began . A staunch Libertarian , with a distinctive mustache , Ron is an extremely strong advocate for small government ; despite working in a city hall job , he believes all government is a waste of taxpayer money . Ron believes the park system should be privatized and run entirely by corporations for profit , as exemplified by the business model of the Chuck E. Cheese 's chain of family entertainment centers . He advocates for program cuts wherever possible , and purposely tries to hire people who are bad at their jobs so they will slow down the government . Ron puts almost no effort into his job , and lets his deputy director Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler ) do the vast majority of the work . 
