Ann Stark is the recently promoted Chief of Staff to the Republican Senate Majority Leader. She has an undisclosed history with Toby Ziegler.
She meets with C.J. Cregg regarding the Leadership Breakfast, where she argues the press conference afterwards should be held on the Hill, but C.J. tells her if she has a problem with the traditional way it's done, the Senate Majority Leader can stay home. Toby tells Ann the "guidelines" for the Breakfast are crap, and they meet to discuss adding the minimum wage, the Patients' Bill of Rights, tax relief, and education to the topics the leaders will discuss at the Breakfast.
Toby tells Ann the Democrats have the votes to pass a minimum wage hike, but she says that doesn't matter if the Republicans won't let the bill out of committee; in response, he threatens to have the wage hike attached as an amendment to "everything that moves." They make a deal to drop the litigation shield on the Patients' Bill of Rights in exchange for having the press conference on the Hill. She leaks Toby's comment about the wage hike to a reporter and has the Senate Majority Leader stay home with a "sore throat," so he isn't on the dais when the question is raised. Toby confronts her about the Senate Majority Leader's presidential ambitions.[1]
When there is a quote from a senior White House official saying President Bartlet is willing to compromise on school vouchers, Toby says Ann Stark thinks the Republicans can get the votes on a compromise measure and were only holding back because they were scared of a veto.[2]