Jennifer Barkley is a hot-shot political strategist from Washington, D.C., who is dispatched to Pawnee by the powerful and rich Newport family to run Bobby Newport's campaign for city council. She says she's being paid $250,000 for six weeks of work running the campaign. She's a savvy political strategist who knows how to work most any situation to her advantage, but she doesn't take any of it personally. She sees election politics as a game to be won.