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Spokane (pronounced spō-CAN [spoʊ ˈkæn]) is the second largest city in Washington state, the third largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest. It is the county seat of Spokane County in the State of Washington, USA. It was originally incorporated as "Spokan Falls" (without an 'e' at the end), drawing on the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun.” It is often misprounounced as "Spo cane",when it's actually prounounced like "spo can".
The town site was originally platted, about 1880, surrounding the falls of the Spokane River, where the river descends from the Selkirk Mountain range into the Columbia Plateau. Spokane is 280 miles east of Seattle and 375 miles northeast of Portland. The 2000 U.S. census showed that the city population was 197,400, and the county had a population of 417,939. The most recent state figures, released in April of 2006, show that the city population has since increased to 201,600, while metropolitan estimates show the area has more than half a million people, and may be approaching 600,000.
Government
The City of Spokane has operated under a Mayor-Council form of government, also referred to as "Strong Mayor," since January 2001, after 40 years under a Council-Manager system.
Dennis P. Hession, formerly the City Council President, became the new mayor on December 16, 2005 after the recall of the late Jim West. The City Council consists of seven members: two elected from each of three districts, plus a president elected at large. The current City Council President is Joe Shogan.
Spokane is in Washington's 5th congressional district, and is currently represented by freshman Representative Cathy McMorris (a Republican).
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