PROVIDENCE -- Most days, the two men vying to be Rhode Island's governor might be looking to highlight their differences, but yesterday they stood together on one issue: a November ballot question that would provide $50 million to build affordable housing.

Urging voters to pass the measure, Republican Governor Carcieri and his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, were among more than half a dozen speakers at the kickoff for Vote Yes On 9, a campaign to support Question 9 on the November ballot.

"The goal of Question 9 is to jump-start the construction of affordable housing," said Armeather Gibbs, chief operating officer of the United Way of Rhode Island, who emceed the event from the back porch of a newly renovated affordable house on Douglas Avenue.

Housing advocates say the $50 million would help Rhode Island to leverage some $450 million in federal housing subsidies and private loans, helping to create up to 2,000 affordable houses, condominiums and apartments over four years.

Their campaign is expected to include more rallies like yesterday's and will also highlight 50 families -- some success stories, some in need of help -- to put a face on the state's housing shortage and the kind of people the bond could affect.

Featured yesterday were Providence residents Kenneth and Erika Hill, who bought their first house in December with a below-market, 5.15-percent interest rate that was based on their $50,000 income.

Kenneth Hill said the subsidized, affordable house on Alverson Street in Providence cost $215,000. With a 30-year mortgage, they pay about $1,500 per month, including taxes and insurance, said Hill, who works as a truck driver while his wife stays at home to raise their three children: Edgar, 9; Kassandra, 8; and Kenny, 4.

Without the lower price and the lower interest rate, "we would have definitely had to look for something cheaper, something that didn't have enough room for us," Hill said.

Hill made a brief speech from the porch at 182 Douglas Ave. but mostly left the talking to others such as Carcieri, Fogarty, House Finance Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

Bishop Tobin said the lack of affordable housing is a "national crisis," one that calls for people from all religious, political and social backgrounds to work together to help their "brothers and sisters."

"As you consider this question, I hope you try to put a face on the families" you will be helping, he said.

Cicilline and Costantino called the bond an economic investment, one that will improve the quality of life across the state. Carcieri said the bond would complement current efforts to build affordable housing while Fogarty said it is an opportunity to "start this effort" to build affordable housing.

Housing is generally considered affordable when a household spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on the rent or the mortgage, taxes and insurance. To be affordable in Rhode Island, a housing unit must rent or sell at a below-market price, made possible with a government subsidy that helped cover the cost of creating it.

The state's Low and Moderate Income Housing Act calls for 10 percent of each community's housing to be affordable, but only five communities -- Central Falls, East Providence, Newport, Providence and Woonsocket -- have met the goal. Housing advocates hope that will start to change now that 29 towns have state-approved plans that identify locations for affordable housing, but they say government money is needed to offset land and construction costs.

More than 100 housing advocates, builders and elected officials attended yesterday's event, organized by HousingWorks RI, a coalition of more than 100 businesses, faith-based groups and charitable organizations. Stories on the Hills and other families can be viewed on a Web site, www.yeson9ri.org.

News that Rhode Island was adding houses at a slower pace than any other state according to the latest U.S. Census figures only added to rallying cry.

"Housing is probably our biggest issue in the state and people have to start realizing that it's the biggest issue," said Rep. Thomas C. Slater, D-Providence, who sponsored the bill that made Question 9 possible.

redgar@projo.com / (401) 277-7418