While listing the guest stars in the opening credits, the phrase "and introducing" precedes Rob Lowe's name, an obvious joke as at the time of airing. Lowe had been appearing in television and films for over 30 years. This joke had already been used in a handful of movies and TV shows--most notably in Ocean's Eleven, in which Julia Roberts (who had been an internationally known movie star for over a decade prior) was given an "and introducing" credit.
The 1993 newspaper article about 18-year-old mayor Benjamin Wyatt has significant detail about him, including that he keeps a dummy in his office to entertain people with his ventriloquist act. In Galentine's Day (2010), Leslie instructs Justin to "abort the mission" if her mother's long-lost love turned out to be "weird, like a ventriloquist or a puppeteer or anyone who pretends toys are people."
Andy mistakenly refers to Jean-Ralphio as Ralph Macchio. Ralph had his breakout role in The Outsiders (1983) alongside Rob Lowe, who joined the cast of Parks and Recreation in this episode.
The Auditor of State in Indiana is now known as the state comptroller. The name change became effective July 1, 2023.
The show originally planned to have Leslie's backstory include her becoming the Mayor of Pawnee as a teenager and disastrously failing, to the point of being recalled from the office in disgrace. When they cast Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, though, the producers decided this was a perfect backstory for HIM. It was written up as Ben having become Mayor in high school in Minnesota and then bankrupted his hometown with an indoor ice-skating/winter sports complex fiasco.