Tom Haverford
First Appearance	"Pilot"
Gender	Male
Born	Bennettsville, South Carolina
Age	28 (Season 3)
Significant Other	Mona-Lisa Saperstein (dating) Ann Perkins (ex-girlfriend) Lucy (ex-girlfriend)
Spouse	Wendy Haverford (ex-wife)
Occupation	Parks and Recreation Department Administrator Founder of Rent-A-Swag Co-Founder of Entertainment 720 Seen spraying cologne samples at Macy's
Nationality	Indian-American
Residence	Pawnee, Indiana
Portrayer	Aziz Ansari

Tom Haverford is a fictional character in the NBC comedy-drama Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee. He is portrayed by Aziz Ansari.

BackgroundEdit

Tom Haverford is an Indian American,^[1] who changed his name from Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani (which is actually Aziz's cousin's real name) to be more appealing in politics.^[2] He works as Leslie Knope's immediate subordinate at the Pawnee parks and recreation department, often serving as her right-hand man.^[3] He also has complete authority over the Pawnee tennis court reservation system. Tom displays an extremely sarcastic, mischievous and cocky attitude,^[3][4] and frequently attempts to curry favors from local contractors. He takes his appearance very seriously, often donning office-casual polo shirts.^[3] Tom married his college friend Wendy, a Canadian resident, to get her U.S. citizenship. Despite the marriage, Tom aggressively flirts with other women, which has prompted confusion from people unfamiliar with his arrangement with Wendy.^[4][5] He is constantly pursuing women even during his marriage, as far as going to strip clubs, hitting on Ann Perkins, and judging at the Miss Pawnee pageant. Tom has complete authority over the Pawnee tennis court reservation system, which has brought him into close contact with many attractive female tennis enthusiasts.^[6] Tom’s heroes include Vin Diesel, Flo Rida, and Patrick Jane.^[6]

StorylineEdit

Season 1Edit

Tom appears lackadaisical about his work at the parks department and regularly undermines Leslie. He plays online Scrabble against his superior, Ron Swanson, during work time and loses on purpose in order to further his career. Ron, who believes in as little government interference as possible, approvingly states of Tom, "He doesn't do a lot of work around here. He shows zero initiative. He’s not a team player. He never wants to go that extra mile. Tom is exactly what I’m looking for in a government employee."^[7] Tom is often chosen to go on field projects with Leslie. He is also known for abusing his small amount of public power for self-benefit. Tom studies the culture of pickup artists and engages in a practice he calls "peacocking", which involves finding a visual element that makes him stand out in public like a peacock. In one such date, he wears a woman's orange hat, which others find ridiculous.^[8]

Season 2Edit

In the episode "Beauty Pageant", Tom pulls some strings so that he can be a judge. He routinely cheers for Trish Ianetta, despite her being unintelligent. He reveals at the end of the episode that one of his pickup tactics is to give girls copies of keys to his house and tell them to show up whenever. He says that no one has showed up so far, but he has been robbed twice. Ron discovers Tom's arranged marriage with Wendy Haverford, but agrees to keep it secret, especially after Tom discovers Ron secretly moonlights as nightclub jazz musician Duke Silver.^[9] Tom and Wendy get a divorce shortly after she gets her citizenship. Although he initially appears fine, Tom realizes he did in fact harbor feelings for Wendy and regrets the parting.^[10]

Season 3Edit

At the beginning of Season 3, in the episode "Go Big or Go Home", Tom is seen working at Lady Foot Locker as a sales associate while the government is shut down. He also referees the youth basketball league in Pawnee, but gives preferential treatment to Andy Dwyer out of jealousy that Ron Swanson is dating his ex-wife Wendy. Lucy eventually breaks up with him in "Time Capsule", and reveals that their relationship ended because Tom spent too much time talking about his ex-wife Wendy Haverford's relationship with Ron Swanson. As an attempt to exact revenge on Ron, Tom brings Ron's ex-wife Tammy Swanson as a date to an event organized by the Parks department in "Ron & Tammy: Part 2". The night ends in chaos with Ron and Tammy being arrested and getting married. Tom tries to stop Ron from proceeding with Tammy, which causes Tammy to beat him senseless. Realizing Tammy is still a horrible woman, Ron breaks up with her. In "Indianapolis", Tom and Ben bond at a club where Tom hopes to pitch his cologne, "Tommy Fresh", to fragrance mogul Dennis Feinstein. Ben comforts Tom after Feinstein rejects and insults Tom's fragrance. In "Li'l Sebastian" Pawnee's beloved celebrity miniature horse goes missing on Tom's watch from the Harvest Festival. The bad press risks keeping visitors away from the festival, but things get straightened out when he's found. In "Camping", he equips his tent with luxury and electronic items from Sky Mall, the powering of which drains the battery on the van and leaves the Parks Department stranded at the campsite, forcing them to seek refuge at the nearby bed and breakfast, The Quiet Corn. Tom is thrilled to be named Andy Dwyer's best man in "April and Andy's Fancy Party", as he says it's on his bucket list, but is discouraged when he learns Andy has several "best men". He relentlessly teases Leslie and reveals he has multiple accounts at the site with the hopes of attracting all types of women. In "Soulmates", Leslie is matched up with Tom via an online dating service. In "The Fight", the Parks Department comes out to The Snakehole Lounge bar for the debut of Tom's new drink "Snake Juice". Chris forces Tom to sell his shares in the Snakehole Lounge because it conflicts with his government job, much to his disappointment. Tom and his friend Jean-Ralphio Saperstein successfully organize Li'l Sebastian's service, which helps inspire Tom to leave city hall to start an entertainment company with Jean-Ralphio.

Season 4Edit

Tom begins working at Entertainment 720 and offers the shoeshinest at City Hall, Andy Dwyer, a job, which Andy turns down. In "Ron and Tammys", Tom tasks Ben with helping out with his grossly mismanaged new company, Entertainment 720. T Entertainment 720 goes bankrupt after quickly blowing through their funding while doing little actual work. Tom decides to throw one last party which Lucy attends and he confesses to her that he is broke and jobless. Ron tries to persuade Tom to take his old job back. Tom initially refuses but eventually agrees to return to the Parks Department in "The Treaty". Ann and Tom begin a tumultuous relationship after making her smile at a Valentine's Day party in "Operation Ann". She decides to meet him for a date, and his antics immediately make her regret agreeing to go out with him. She struggles with his immaturity and he struggles with what he calls his "oh-no-no's", which include not sharing his taste in music. However, after several fits and starts, Tom has convinced Ann to keep seeing him, even though he's oblivious to (or ignoring) her disgust at allowing herself to do so.

TriviaEdit

• Has a full-sized room for a closet
• Wears pink for the sake of "peacocking"
• He mentions he has carefully cultivated a Jay-Z vibe
• Often uses the term "boo" when talking to a girlfriend
• He is always scheming a plan, invention, or company
• He once moved because his refrigerator broke

PhotosEdit

This character has a Photo Gallery.

ReferencesEdit