At-large Denver City Councilmember Sarah Parady announced her resignation from the council at Monday’s meeting, saying medical challenges have made it difficult for her to show up to council meetings.

She will formally resign on Aug. 5, within 90 days of the regularly scheduled municipal election, to keep the city from needing to hold a special election, she said.

“It’s devastating to me to have reached this point because I love being here,” Parady said through tears Monday. “It’s been my honor, my privilege to be up here representing the city that I love so much and I do not want to stop. This is where I want to be, but it’s not in the cards.”

She will continue to attend meetings, especially for important votes, but asked for “some grace and understanding.”

Parady does not entirely understand what is going on medically, she said, but “going up the stairs right now is harder than it used to be to climb a fourteener … when I get up from the committee table the world spins on its axis.”

Overlapping chronic illnesses that are “not well understood” are likely the cause of her challenges, she added.

Parady is a civil rights attorney who became a council member in 2023. She began her career at Colorado Legal Services before helping to found the Lowrey Parady Lebsack law firm, according to prior reporting from The Denver Gazette.

Parady’s career has been devoted to advocating for economic equality and workers’ rights, according to the city’s website. She has dealt with labor law, police brutality, and immigration cases. She also drafted the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which took effect in 2021.

“I’ve staked my business on helping people, not corporations. And I’ve fought for hundreds and hundreds of regular folks from every neighborhood in our city,” Parady said in a campaign video in 2022.

She made the resignation announcement before Aug. 1 to be transparent and because she wanted to give people plenty of time to consider running for office, she said Monday.

“I think often the best elected officials are not always the people who immediately think of themselves in positions of power. So, if this gives you the thought that you might raise your hand, consider that thought seriously,” she said.

Parady used the time announcing her departure to bring up major political challenges the city has faced, saying Denverites have “an identity that is very much under attack culturally by the federal government.”

Denver is “the city where so many civil rights movements got their homes over the years … the city where we mobilized by thousands when we saw people from Venezuela getting off of buses with kids in diapers, the city that has already mobilized and responded in overwhelming numbers to the need to be on watch for federal agents coming to deport our neighbors,” she said.

Parady also pointed to her sickness as a financial strain and said she is lucky to have a partner who makes enough money to support her family. Many families do not have that luxury and sickness is a major contributor to first-time homelessness, she said.

“Thank you for the chance to represent you,” she said. “It is the best thing I have ever done and will ever do.”

Councilmember Amanda Sandoval thanked Parady for her service to the city, calling her a “dedicated public servant and tireless advocate” for Denver’s residents.

“Throughout her service on the City Council, Councilwoman Parady has been a thoughtful leader, a principled voice and a champion for the issues she cares about,” Sandoval said.

While most city staff members have benefits like FMLA leave, elected officials do not, Sandoval added, asking people to give Parady grace.

“Councilwoman Parady made this really tough decision and I just ask that we all support her and support our council during this time,” she said.

In a statement Monday night, Mayor Mike Johnston called Parady a “tireless advocate for Denverites,” pointing to her efforts to create and preserve affordable housing.

“Public service requires dedication, resilience, and a willingness to stand up for your beliefs and the beliefs of your constituents,” Johnston said in the statement. “Councilwoman Parady has consistently demonstrated those qualities. And though we have sometimes viewed issues differently, I have never questioned her values or her deep desire to improve the lives of Denverites.”

Denver Gazette reporter Bethany Johnson contributed to this report.