A Tale of Two OC City Council Vacancies

Two of Orange County's largest cities have wrestled since the November general election about how to fill vacancies in their city council. In Fullerton, the council last week voted to appoint former councilmember Jan Flory to finish a two-year term for an at-large seat that will cease to exist in 2020. Residents seem satisfied with the move, given that a special election would've cost over $400,000. In Orange, however, many residents are upset that the City Council moved to hold a November special election of that cost to fill the seat vacated by Mark Murphy when he successfully ran for mayor. Supporters of Betty Valencia, who finished third in the 2018 Orange City Council election for two seats, felt she should've been appointed to fill Murphy's next. What explains each city's decision?