A group of minority business leaders endorsed Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's gubernatorial bid yesterday, saying the lieutenant governor is the better candidate to further the interests of black-owned companies.

"We're looking for a candidate who would try to make things a little fairer and try to level the playing field, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend would be that person," said Garland Williamson, president of Information Control Systems Corp. and a member of the Presidents' Roundtable. "Her Republican opponent didn't get it. He didn't have a clue what we were talking about."

The Presidents' Roundtable is a group of 22 African-American chief executive officers. The organization conducted interviews with Townsend and her Republican opponent, Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.